King Rats
by letters
Summary: A tale of rat kings and demon dogs and people dealing with life in the Ouran way. Kind of just pulling some things from my memory here. Not a stranger to Fanfic, but this is my first published story. SO, drop a review! Criticism is most welcome!
1. Chapter 1

A RAT and a DEMON DOG.

~Chapter 1

The sudden downpour of freezing rain jolted Kaoru awake with a gasp. Not remembering the previous five minutes, he put his gloved palms to the now muddy dirt and tried to push himself up.

*crack*

A searing pain went through his entire body, and he quickly collapsed back to the ground. Kaoru had no idea what had made the sound, but he wasn't going to try to get up again any time soon. Spots were still swimming across his eyes. He removed his gloves and, slowly, inched his hand up and undid his helmet strap. It hurt far more than it should have. His fingers felt warm and sticky, and he saw that they were covered in blood. He was suddenly aware of the noxious smell of gasoline filling his nose, and spied the small red motorcycle, or rather, what was left of it, half concealed in the thick brush a few yards away. Oddly enough, his first thought was how angry Hikaru was going to be when he found out that his twin had completely wrecked his new motorcycle he had just gotten for summer vacation. He had even promised that he wouldn't touch it. Hikaru had wanted one more than anything, but their mother wouldn't allow it for the longest time.

"Mom's right, Hikaru, motorcycles are dangerous! Do you know how much more likely you are to die in a crash if you're riding one of those things?"

"Kaoru, you're such a kill joy!" Hikaru sighed in exasperation. "I swear! It's not like I'll let you ride it! You better lighten up before you turn into a complete woman."

"I see! So being stupid is a requisite for being manly, I guess!" Kaoru replied hotly. He was even more annoyed that he was automatically denied driving privileges. Hikaru had been getting on his nerves more and more, as of late.

"It's just a motorcycle, MOM. People ride them every day, you know?"

Kaoru felt the water start to seep through his speed suit, and then he remembered the suit was supposed to be watertight. The one comfort was that the coldness was numbing his senses to the dull, aching throbs throughout his entire body.

'Oh boy,' he thought bitterly to himself, 'I won't be hearing the end of this for a long time...How the hell did I fall down here anyway?...'

He tried to look around as best he could. He was lying in some manmade ravine against a sharp incline that he knew must lead back up to the road, but he couldn't hear any cars. All he could hear was the sound of wind rustling through leaves, and the pat-pat of rain striking the earth. Trees from his original destination, the park, lined the other side. It was slowly growing darker and darker, and there was a flicker of lighting overhead.

The initial shock he was in was quickly beginning to wane. The incredible amount of pain suddenly wracking his body made him want to scream in surprise, but all that actually escaped was a strangled, pathetic whimper. He felt the breast pocket of his suit for his cell phone, but it had fallen somewhere during the crash. Kaoru's heart began pounding, and his breathing became shallow. It was slowly dawning on him that it might be a very long time before anyone found him in such an isolated spot so far from the road.

'Or before they find my body...' the grim thought nagged at him. 'Wouldn't this be a pathetic way for my millionaire life to end; alone, in the rain, like some rat...'

He had sped off not an hour before, in a mood of sorts. The Host Club had gathered at the stables that day for a joy riding event to kick off the summer holidays. It was Tamaki's idea, of course. How much more princely could he be, seated upon his father's prize winning, white stallion? Lord, but the ladies did go absolutely crazy! Kyoya, of course, found a complimenting black stallion to prance around upon, while Honey was given a perky little Welsh to ride. And Hikaru had one of the Hitachiin family's horses, an Akhal Teke with a beautiful bronze sheen. Kaoru wasn't crazy about horses, but the sight of his brother's face every time he cleared a jump was a pleasure to watch. There were few things that made Hikaru calm and truly focused, and riding was one of them. Haruhi seemed to share Kaoru's wariness of horses, and was not the most enthused person there.

"I don't see why riding a cow is going to make all the girls happy..." Haruhi grumbled. Kaoru chuckled.

"Come on, it's not that bad! Look, Mori-senpai has a really gentle gelding for you. Wouldn't hurt a fly, I promise!"

Mori grunted in affirmation, as he handed the reigns of an older bay over to Haruhi. The gelding bobbed his head up and down, and Haruhi put up her hands in a reflexive defense. Remembering her last carriage ride with horses did not make to overly eager to ride one. "I just don't like things that are THAT much bigger than me! What if this thing decides to step on me?!"

"What's the hold up?" Hikaru called, as he steered his horse next to where they were standing. As if reflecting his sentiments, his horse stamped impatiently in place, swishing its tail from side to side. "All of the guests are ready to go. Haruhi, just get on, already! The horse isn't going to bite you!"

As if on cue, the gelding started nibbling on Haruhi's shoulder when she wasn't looking. She yelped in surprise, dropping the reigns and jumping back.

"No way, I'm out!"

Hikaru started laughing. "It's not the horse's fault you taste like sugar!"

"What's this about my little girl 'tasting like sugar'?!" Tamaki demanded, as he and Kyoya joined them.

"Haruhi's scared of the horse," Mori said flatly.

"Yeah, she's starting to sound like someone else I know!" Hikaru gave a sly grin in Kaoru's direction.

"Hey! I-"

"Hikaru, Kaoru," Kyoya had a deceptively pleasant smile on his face, "don't all the ladies look lovely in their riding outfits today?" He gestured towards a group of girls approaching on horseback. Kaoru grit his teeth for a moment, but took the hint.

"Indeed they do!" Hikaru hastily agreed, also taking the hint. "But I can think of only one whom I'd ride with till the end of time."

'Oh brother, how do you keep coming up with this stuff' Kaoru rolled his eyes inwardly, but was all sparkles in reply.

"Hikaru,...you shouldn't say things like that, you'll embarrass me!" Kaoru's tone was suddenly completely docile and timid. Hikaru leaned over the horse's side and cupped Kaoru's face in his palms.

"But you're so cute when you're shy, Kaoru..."

"Hikaru..."

"AAAAGH!!" The girls practically shrieked! With a satisfied smile from Kyoya, Hikaru pulled Kaoru up into the saddle behind him, and they began trotting away with the group of ladies. Kyoya let out a chuckle.

"As if their relationship wasn't taboo enough, adding horses into the mix just makes them all the more irresistible!"

"What kind of things are YOU into, Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi asked dryly. Tamaki looked at both of them with a confused expression before speaking.

"Eeeeven so,...they do seem to be at odds with each other a lot lately...but maybe it's a good thing. It's probably just another sign of their growing independence!" Tamaki spread out his arms wide in a regal gesture, but quickly brought them back down when the stallion shifted its weight to the other side.

"Haru-chan!" Honey came bouncing up on his grey pony. "If you're scared of big horses, I have just the ride for you!!"

Hikaru and Kaoru were a little ahead of the girls now. The long legs of the Akhal Teke quickly outpaced the shorter horses. As soon as they were out of earshot, their idle chatter fell silent. Finally, after a couple of minutes, Kaoru looked up at his brother.

"Hikaru...have you thought about what we're going to do? Once we quit the Host Club? I mean...Things can't go back to the way they were before, right?"

"I guess not. But even if we aren't entertaining ladies, we can all still be friends."

Kaoru's grip unintentionally tightened around Hikaru's waste. "I guess..."

"What's eating you lately, Kaoru? You seem like you have something on your mind."

"Me? Oh, it's nothing! I mean, I was just wondering what you would do if we weren't hosting anymore."

"What WE would do, you mean, right?"

"I guess..."

Hikaru brought the horse to a stop. They were now far ahead of everyone else, as the girls had stopped to coo over Haruhi's new ride, a tiny, miniature, pony. It was so small, her shoes were dragging on the ground.

"Alright, Kaoru, spill it! You've been moping for days, just say it already."

"I think we should spend some time apart!!"

Hikaru stared at him, dumbfounded. "W-what?!"

Kaoru had shut his eyes tightly, but opened them with a fierce determination. "I think we should be on our own for a while. I'm tired of this! I'm tired of always having to be the weak, girly one, of always having to act like something I'm not, and of, of..."

"Of...me?" Hikaru's voice had lost all of its bravado. Kaoru looked the other way. He instantly regretted saying anything, but lately it just felt like he was suffocating. Hikaru turned back around and slapped the reigns lightly. The horse started moving again. He didn't say anything else, and Kaoru felt knots forming in his stomach. It wasn't all Hikaru's fault, Kaoru knew that. He had a more bombastic personality, and was just plain louder in demanding everything he wanted from life and the people around him. He was also fiercely protective and jealous by nature. How could someone like Kaoru ever hope to be recognized as unique around someone like Hikaru? Was that such a selfish thing to want? To have your own life, not just be the support for someone else's, even if it was his twin?

They rode in silence all the way home, sitting on opposite sides of the limo. The silence continued as they walked through the front door, dropping their book slings on the floor.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru finally managed, "Do you understand what I'm trying to say? I don't want to be like this anymore."

"It's alright, Kaoru, you're probably right anyway." Something in his tone seemed out of sorts with Kaoru. "I mean, I don't need you around cramping my style all the time, do I?"

"Well excuse me!"

"And besides, we all know you're just being jealous."

"J-JEALOUS?!" Kaoru could barely spit out the word. "OF YOU?! NO chance in hell!!"

"Then what's your problem!!" Hikaru yelled back. Kaoru honestly didn't know what to say at that point. Of course he loved his brother, and of course he hated to see things change. He hated to see himself changing, and hated the fact that no one seemed to notice. "Whatever, never mind! You want time alone, FINE! Take all the time you need! Whatever plane Mom leaves on tomorrow, I'll be on it!"

Kaoru winced when he heard the bedroom door slam upstairs. In a way, he felt a small victory for still having the ability to upset his twin so much, but that feeling quickly faded into one of disgust.

"Kaoru, sweetheart, that's quite a face," Kaoru startled from his ponderings as his mother approached him. She looked absolutely stunning in her own designed, ruby red silk dress. It fell of her youthful neck and shoulders, which were dripping with diamonds, and billowed down to the floor, a shimmering red river of fabric.

'That's right,' Kaoru remembered. 'Dad and Mom have that annual banquet for the end of fashion week tonight...Jeez, she probably heard us arguing...'

"Wow, nice dress, Mom," he offered. "You're going to make dad a jealous man tonight." He didn't say anything else, just looked back down at his feet. His mother smiled, and took his hands in hers, choosing to ignore Kaoru's seemingly ingrained, host-like conversation. "Kaoru, don't worry so much about Hikaru. You two are growing into fine young men, but you're still figuring out who you really are. No one said it was going to be easy."

"What are you talking about!?" Kaoru laughed nervously, removing his hands.

"I knew it from the beginning...," Yuzuha smiled warmly. Kaoru was taken aback. His mother was always so professional, so serious all of the time; it was rare he saw her looking genuinely affectionate. Or maybe he had just never noticed... "Kaoru, when you and Hikaru were born, he was already just like he is now. It seemed like no matter what I did, he burst into screams of holy terror! I was relieved every time the nanny came to take him away!" she laughed softly and shook her head. "The only thing that ever made him happy, was when he was right next to you. And you, even as a baby, hardly ever made a peep. Never cried, never complained, always just so sweet and so happy..." She leaned over and kissed his forehead. Kaoru just stared at her with surprised, saucer-like eyes. "I know it may not seem like it now, but you're much stronger than you think."

"K, Mom...," Kaoru muttered, looking the other way. He didn't really like the fact that his mother could read his mind so easily. He looked back, and flashed her a goofy, lopsided grin, and she gave him a tight hug.

"Well,..." she said over her shoulder as she was walking away. "I guess I'll have to tell the captain we'll we having another passenger tomorrow morning! Ciao, darling!"

Damn! So she had heard them. Mom...Hikaru...

Kaoru felt his eyes start to water, even though they were wet with rain. Suddenly feeling very thirsty, he opened his mouth to let the rain fall in, and swallowed. All he could taste was blood. Mercifully, the rain began to subside just as the last rays of the sun were disappearing from the trees. Kaoru felt his pocket again, and found a pack of cigarettes and a lighter snugly fit at the bottom. Smoking was definitely not very host-like, he knew, but he only did it when he was alone. It was kind of odd, because if someone had to choose which one of the twins would wind up a smoker, Kaoru was sure everyone would have picked Hikaru. But, then again, Kaoru didn't really feel smoking still held that bad-boy, spaghetti-western image, and then he quickly felt stupid for thinking about it at all.

He slowly brought one to his lips, and tried to use the lighter. It took quite a few tries, as it felt like the hand he was using might as well of belonged to someone else, but it eventually produced a small flame. Kaoru exhaled the smoke from his lungs slowly, trying to suppress a cough. He knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do when you probably had internal damage, but the nicotine helped dull the pain temporarily.

He suddenly remembered going down to the garage, but not being able to find the driver. After searching around, his eyes settled on the motorcycle. They became slits of determination. Maybe Hikaru was partly right, maybe I do need to start living life a little bit more. His mind made up, he quickly put the speed suit over his clothes and fastened the helmet atop his head. Having watched Hikaru start it, Kaoru quickly figured out the ignition and revved the engine a couple of times before speeding off.

"HOLY SHIT!!" He was yelling, but the yells were inaudible over the roar of the engine. Having never ridden one before, he initially kept gripping the handles tighter in a panic, which only made the bike go faster. Eventually, he calmed down enough to figure it out, and with a smug sense of satisfaction, began making his way to the park with all of his drawing tools in a sling across his back. He was just rounding a curve on the woodland road when felt the impact of a tremendous force. The last thing he remembered was his side hitting the guard rail, and the bike being over his head, rather than under him where it belonged.

'Was it a car?...I got hit by a car?...' It happened to people every day, but for some reason, it seemed absurd to him. 'Wait,...if I got hit by a car...then they would come down and help me, right?...Hey....

"HEY!" he yelled as loud as he could manage. "HEY, is anyone up there??! HELP!"

There was no reply. Damn...

Kaoru closed his eyes, giving up. He couldn't even turn over, much less crawl, and he could feel his strength quickly draining out of him. As a dizzy, nauseous feeling started to overtake him, and his vision began to blur again, he smiled in quiet resignation.

"Goodbye...Hikaru...," he whispered, a tear escaping down his cheek.

Kaoru's smile instantly faded when he heard a sudden, violent rustling in the bushes on the far side.

'I guess someone did hear me!' he thought joyfully. The jubilant feeling did not last long, however, as a large, scraggly, yellow mutt of a dog came limping out of the bushes. His fur was matted, and caked with mud, and his tail had an odd kink in it from being broken long ago. Its long tongue lazily draped over his sharp canines, the dog panted and raised its head to look at the pathetic boy lying a few feet away. Kaoru froze; one of the dog's eyes gleamed an unnatural, milky white in the dusky light.

The quiet death, alone, in the rain, had just graduated to the utter terror of being eaten alive by a stray dog.


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2

Haruhi's cell phone rang at ten o' clock that night. She turned off the sink and wiped her hands on an old dish cloth before looking at the blinking number on her cell phone cover.

'Hikaru…Ugh, at 10 at night?! Why did I ever accept this darn thing.'

She flipped open the phone. "Haruhi here, what's up, Hikaru."

"Haruhi, I'm glad you're still up! I've already called Tamaki and Kyoya. I was wondering if you've seen Kaoru tonight?" the words all came out in a hurried rush in Haruhi's ears. She blinked twice.

"N-no, I haven't seen him since you guys left school this afternoon. Is everything alright?"

"Well, I mean, I guess so… I was just checking. I can't get in touch with his cell phone, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Haruhi thought he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than her. And she couldn't believe that Kaoru would be gone that long without telling someone, or answering his phone, at least.

"Wait, doesn't he like to draw in the park sometimes?" Haruhi looked out the window into the dark as if she could see the park from there.

"The park closed two hours ago," Hikaru said rather dryly. Then there was a pause. "Wait a minute… my motorcycle's gone…"

There was an abrupt click. Haruhi stared at her phone in surprise. Hikaru sounded unusually worried. He would know if something wasn't right better than anyone. With a frown, Haruhi quickly dialed Kyoya. Tamaki would probably be no help right now.

"Haruhi," the usually mellow voice sounded slightly higher than usual, "I know why you're calling."

"I know, senpai, what-?"

"Where do you think he might have been heading?"

Haruhi gave up whatever she was going to ask. "Well, I know he likes to go to the park alone. You think he might have been heading there?"

*click*

"Aaargh!" Haruhi threw her phone on the counter in frustration. 'What the hell?!' But really, rather than the slight annoyance of rude phone etiquette, she was beginning to seriously worry about Kaoru. 'This really doesn't sound like him, but then again, they have been fighting a lot lately…'

Kaoru seemed so unhappy these past few weeks. She tried to ask him about it one morning, while Hikaru had stepped out of homeroom. He had been staring somewhat languidly at the door his twin left through, over his desk with his chin in one hand.

"Kaoru, are you doing okay? You seem like something's been bothering you lately."

"Hmph," he gave a short chuckle as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Are you always worrying about other people's problems, Haruhi?"

"No…Only my friends'."

Kaoru sighed. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong… I guess I'm thinking about what we'll do when we graduate."

"Ah, thinking for the future, that's a rarity in this school!" Haruhi applauded, leaning against his desk and crossing her legs in a very male fashion. "I don't think Tamaki-senpai ever looks past the next five minutes!"

"Ha, I envy him, then!" Kaoru smiled. Haruhi smiled back.

"I do too, but maybe you and I can learn something from him. You know, it's too easy to always lose yourself today worrying about tomorrow. You'll never enjoy life."

"I think you're right," he closed his eyes for a moment. "So! It's decided then! You and I are going to enjoy the moment!"

He held out his hand abruptly for affirmation. Haruhi blinked, stunned, then smiled and took it in a firm shake.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Hitachiin."

They laughed, and looked up to see Hikaru walking towards them. "What's so funny?" he queried, draping an elbow over Kaoru's shoulder.

"Eh, Haruhi was reminding me that I was getting a little too serious," Kaoru explained with a sheepish grin.

"Thank you for that, Haruhi! This guy's been a mope the entire weekend! Our fun and games have definitely been suffering!"

"I can believe it," Haruhi winked at Kaoru.

It turned into a rather wonderful day, full of bad jokes and laughter. But Haruhi couldn't help but feel that she didn't really understand what Kaoru was thinking about. In fact, she knew she didn't.

All of these thoughts rushed from her head when she heard a knock at her door. A neighbor's dog started barking as she peered through the peep hole. A smile crept up on her lips. There they all were: Tamaki, Kyoya, Mori, Honey,…well, almost all of them. She quickly cleared her throat and returned her stoic countenance before opening the door.

"Where's Hikaru?" was the first thing out of her mouth.

"We think he's heading for the park, we're going there too!" Tamaki declared most passionately. "We just stopped by to get you!"

As if on cue, a loud droning noise could be heard in the distance. Haruhi looked up to see one of the Ootori family's helicopters looming overhead. A search light beamed down on them. Kyoya waved them on, and quickly gestured to Haruhi.

"Quickly, let's follow in the car."

"Kyoya, do you really think something bad happened?" Haruhi asked in an earnest voice.

"It's very unlikely Kaoru would be gone this long, even if he were very upset, which I've heard from his mother, personally, that he was not when he left. He's far too considerate, either way you look at it, to be pulling a stunt like this!"

"He took a motorcycle…" Haruhi thought to herself out loud, as they all piled into the limo.

"A what?" Kyoya asked quickly.

"Oh, it was the last think Hikaru said to me before I called you. That his motorcycle was missing. I guess Kaoru took it."

Kyoya whipped out his cell phone and speed dialed a number. One second later, someone picked up. "Bravo, we're now looking for a red motorcycle."

Haruhi could hear the loud crackling from the chopper over the receiver from across the seat. "ROGER THAT, WE'LL DO OUR BEST! OVER AND OUT!"

Kyoya flipped his phone shut in a determined way, and placed his chin in his hands. Tamaki looked at him worriedly.

"You don't think he…crashed it, do you?"

"Hold on a second, Tamaki-senpai, why would you assume that?! I mean, we know he's a little timid and all, but that doesn't mean he can't drive a motorcycle!" Haruhi laughed uncomfortably, glancing around the cabin for support.

"Haruhi," Kyoya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "there's a reason Kaoru has always seemed less athletic than his twin."

"What?" Haruhi looked around the hosts sitting next to her. Mori looked the other way, Honey fiddled with Usaa-chan, and Tamaki tried to give her his best, reassuring smile. "Tamaki-senpai?"

"Haruhi, Kaoru, well, he has a slight problem with his heart." At the sight of Haruhi's eyes widening, Tamaki hastily added, "Not a big problem, but it's enough to warrant not driving vehicles of any sort."

"When Kaoru was young, he often had mild fainting spells," Kyoya explained in more detail. "It seemed he had a congenital defect of the heart that caused a murmur of sorts. After a couple of surgeries, the doctors that followed his case insisted he'd be fine, however," his dark grey eyes narrowed as he spoke, "To be on the safe side, his parents, as well as Hikaru, have tried to keep an eye on him."

"Wait a second," Haruhi was trying to mull this new information over in her mind, "Wouldn't Kaoru know not to take a motorcycle then? I mean, if he knew he was prone to fainting spells?"

"Well, that's the thing, Haru-chan," Honey chimed in. "I don't think Kao-chan really knows how sick he is."

"No one really talks about it," Mori affirmed in a quieter voice.

"That's true…" Tamaki smiled. "I think that Hikaru always wanted them to feel equal, no matter what. I think it would vex him a good deal to let his brother know that he was always secretly worrying about him."

"So that's why he's always so protective of Kaoru. I had no idea." Haruhi looked down at her knees for a moment. "It's so typical," she said in a low voice. "Once again, all of this could have been avoided if people were just honest with each other."

"Before you get up on a pedestal," Kyoya warned, "be advised to remember that not all people are as level-headed as you, _especially_ rich people."

Haruhi nodded. "Sorry. So, we're going to search the park, right?"

"And the roads leading up to it," Kyoya smiled. "Along the way, I'm sure we'll spot the Hitachiin family doing the same, but it's a lot of ground to cover."

**

"KAORU!!" Hikaru was yelling at the top of his lungs. His driver nearly plugged his ears. "KAORU, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The driver looked up to see yet another emergency vehicle rush by, not knowing its destination. The driver looked at his watch, 4:30 A.M. There were police, fire trucks, and ambulances swarming all over the park, but no one knew where he was for sure. The driver turned his gaze back towards his young charge. Hikaru was searching frantically off the side of the road with a large flashlight. Dejected, he finally came back to the car.

"It's alright, young master," the driver consoled, "We'll try another area."

As he patted Hikaru on the shoulder, the boy sniffed and then burst into tears. The driver looked around nervously, not quite sure how to react. "Um…master?"

"What if he's dead!!?" Hikaru sobbed. "That's why he can't hear me! That's why I can't feel him! I should know where he is!!"

The driver made shushing noises and pulled Hikaru into a gentle hug. 'I guess rich kids have unrealistic expectations of even themselves…" he thought briefly. Choosing to ignore the future dry-cleaning bill for snot on an expensive jacket, he tried to console the poor boy.

"Look, it isn't over till it's over, as they say. You can't give up hope now, kid! Hasn't even been a day yet, has it?"

"N-no," Hikaru sniffled, backing off. He wiped his nose with his forearm, suddenly embarrassed at his lack of composure. "I WILL find him," he promised to himself out loud.

"That's the spirit!" the driver cheered as Hikaru climbed back into the car. But as soon as he shut the door, the driver's face fell in grim apprehension. 'God, these kids are going to be the death of me. I gotta get a new job…'


	3. Chapter 3

~Chapter 3

The ugly dog limped forward. Kaoru broke out in a cold sweat. He lifted his eyes to the beautifully bright, swirl of stars appearing in the sky, and was briefly reminded of one of his favorite paintings. He fought a shiver as the night air began to blow. He could hear the dog quickly approaching, and shut his eyes tightly.

'Oh, god, I hope this doesn't take long!'

He was honestly pleading to the heavens at this point to just make the pain stop. In a way, maybe this mutt was doing him a service. He could feel the warm, wet breath of the dog on his face now, sniffing him in a spastic, frantic sort of way. Kaoru unconsciously held his breath and grit his teeth.

*SLUUURP*

The dog's long, wet tongue traveled up one side of his face. Kaoru cracked an eye open. The dog was sitting next to him, whining softly. He put his cold, wet nose under Kaoru's chin and nudged him gently. Without really knowing why, Kaoru began to cry.

"Y-you stupid dog!" he croaked hoarsely through his tears. His cold hand involuntarily reached to stroke the dog's head. With the welcome attention, the dog sidled up snugly to Kaoru's body, and laid his head across his chest. Kaoru ignored the initial, extra pain it caused him, and continued to pet the dog with the only awkward, jerky movements he could manage. He was so warm… With the dog lying next to him, Kaoru barely felt the cold at all. He sensed the gentle thumping of the dog's crooked tail wagging against his leg. Judging by the dog's appearance, Kaoru guessed that he probably hadn't been touched in a very, very long time. He was amazed the dog was so friendly.

"Good boy…" he whispered, suddenly feeling very drowsy again. "Good boy."

When Kaoru next awoke, it was still dark. He felt a massive shudder overtake him, and noticed that the dog was gone. Hearing a noise above, he realized the dog was somewhere by the main road.

'Dumb dog…" he thought dizzily.

Oddly enough, he wasn't feeling much pain at the moment. It almost seemed as if his body was floating far away from his brain. He momentarily wondered if that was a good thing. As he began drifting in an out of a haze, Kaoru's foggy mind suddenly had a thought.

He felt his left arm and found his braided leather bracelet was still there. Slipping it off, Kaoru made a high pitched, kissing noise with his lips, (whistling was out of the question), and the dog quickly padded back towards him.

'Good boy,' Kaoru thought, rather than actually speaking. He felt around for one of the dog's front legs, and began clumsily tying the bracelet above one of his paws. Luckily, the dog didn't seem to mind and simply sat there, panting lazily, as Kaoru tried again and again to tie the knot. At last, he pulled the strings firmly and was sure the bracelet wasn't going to go anywhere. He then let his arms drop, exhausted. The dog stood, wagging its tail, and padded off again towards the road. As a heavy sleep threatened to overtake him for the second time, Kaoru hoped for the best.

'Find him, boy…'

**

Everyone had been searching for hours when the light of the rising sun began to slowly illuminate the woodland. The club had found Hikaru at some point in the early morning, wherein they'd all agreed to split up to cover more ground. Haruhi volunteered to accompany Hikaru, though. After seeing his completely vexed and pale face, the thought of leaving him by himself seemed cruel.

'Besides,' she thought rather guiltily, as they walked out of sight of the parked limo, 'This is all kind of just to make us feel better, anyway. They must have a hundred police sweeping the forest with a fine-toothed comb. It's not like 6 more people looking around are going to make that much more of a difference.'

She and Hikaru were walking along the side of the road with flashlights in tow. He had just finished talking to his father over his cell phone for the past few minutes. From what Haruhi could gleam, it seemed as if the police had covered most of the park with no success.

Hikaru's face was rather blank, but he snapped his phone shut with far more force than needed. "They're going to start searching the school." His voice was very husky from shouting all night.

"I guess that's the second best place to look," Haruhi agreed. They had left the park grounds over an hour ago, and were slowly making they're way up a hill of sorts. Haruhi stole a glance at the lone twin from the corner of her eye. Hikaru looked absolutely devastated, but he wasn't saying much. "Hikaru," she tried to sound reassuring. "I'm sure we'll find him soon."

"I should never have gotten that bike," he muttered. "I don't know, I think I wanted to rub it in his face a little, maybe. I just…"

His voice trailed off and he bit his lip with frustration. Haruhi shined her light down the grassy trench on the side of the road; still nothing.

"Kaoru's been changing lately, hasn't he?" she asked simply, facing opposite him. Hikaru glanced down at her in surprise. He then quickly looked the other way. "I mean, I've noticed how much you guys seem to be doing your own thing lately… You know, things changing can be a little scary sometimes, but usually, things have a way of working out for the best."

"But, I don't want things to change," Hikaru's voice was slightly strained. "Things were fine the way they were!"

"Well, I think you thought the same way before joining the host club, right? When we find him, give new Kaoru a chance. Maybe you'll both wind up being even better friends than you are now, eh?"

"But then stuff like THIS will happen," Hikaru spat bitterly. Haruhi was shocked at the tone in his voice. She didn't say anything more after that. They walked on in silence for a few minutes, and Haruhi noticed the sun had almost completely risen.

'Daylight,' she thought. 'We've been out here the entire night. If I'm tired, I'll bet Hikaru's completely exhausted by now.' As if to confirm her notions, Hikaru had just tripped over his own feet and barely caught himself from falling. The flashlight he'd been holding went sliding across the pavement to the base of the guardrail.

"I'll get it!" Haruhi quickly outpaced Hikaru in the direction the flashlight had gone. She bent over to retrieve it and suddenly came face to face with the ugliest, one-eyed dog she had ever seen.

"UAHH!"

Haruhi fell back in shock.

"What is it?!" Hikaru ran to her side.

"BARK, BARK!" the dog, excited at the commotion and noise, began to dance back and forth on its paws. It's kinked tail wagged most enthusiastically.

"God! That is one scary looking, demon dog!!" Haruhi gasped. After taking a few breaths, she smiled. "Seems friendly enough, though."

Hikaru, trying to mask his disappointment at the fact it was just a stray dog, took out his phone. "I'll call animal-control, I guess. Don't think a dog like this should be running around the pa-"

He stopped abruptly. Curiously, Haruhi looked up at him. He was staring at the dog intently, his mouth gaping in shock. Following his gaze, she noticed the thin, leather bracelet bouncing up and down on the dog's leg.

"BARK! BARK!" the dog suddenly hobbled off the side of the road, into the ravine below.

"Hikaru, is that-?"

Haruhi scrambled to her feet while Hikaru was already leaping over the railing. He slid down the side of the hill before hitting a rock and tumbling to a heap at the bottom. Quickly rising, he looked frantically about.

"KAORU?!" his haggard voice could barely carry any more.

"KAORU!!" Haruhi's clear tones echoed along the hillside behind him as she, more carefully, made her way down. "KAORU, ARE YOU DOWN HERE?!"

"BARK!"

They both heard the dog in the distance, and ran as fast as their legs could carry them over the thick vegetation, still wet from last night's storm. It had been only a couple of minutes before they both almost tripped over the half buried motorcycle. Hikaru made an awful choking sound as he surveyed the wreckage.

"BARK, BARK," the dogs cries faded into whines, and they both looked up to see him pawing at a seemingly lifeless body, lying against the bottom of the slope.

Neither Haruhi nor Hikaru moved for a moment. It was as if neither wanted to wrap their minds around the possibility of there being no life in the still and bloody form before them. Haruhi unconsciously gasped, covering her mouth in anticipated horror, as Hikaru, tentatively, approached his brother.

"Kaoru…" he said softly. It sounded to Haruhi as though he were trying to wake his brother from sleeping. Hikaru slowly bent down and took Kaoru's face gently in his hands. "Kaoru…?"

Kaoru's eyes fluttered ever so slightly. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, but somehow, he knew Hikaru had finally found him.

Hikaru gave a sob of relief at the sight. "Haruhi!" he cried, not letting go of his brother.

"Right!" Haruhi stood from the cowering position she had unconsciously sank into, and dialed Kyoya.

"Kyoya, we found him! We're a little past the south exit of the park, heading towards town! Ambulance, NOW! I'll come back up to the road!" This time, Haruhi hung up abruptly. She suddenly noticed the unfortunate looking dog, which had backed up a good distance when Hikaru knelt next to Kaoru. She held her hand out to it and clicked. The dog nervously took a step in her direction.

"Here, boy…" she called softly. "It's alright."

The dog slowly made its way to her side, wagging its tail with a bowed head.

"Good boy!!" she gushed, kneeling down and scratching vigorously behind the dog's grime ridden ears. "C'mon."

She began climbing the hill as fast as she could manage, the dog limping after her. Hikaru remained next to Kaoru's side, not taking his eyes off of him. He could not hold the tears back. Such a strange mixture of fear, relief, and pain was washing over him, he could barely think. Kaoru was alive, but he didn't look good. Hikaru could see deep red stains dotting the speed suit, and could hear the rasping noises Kaoru's chest made as he struggled to inhale every time he took a breath.

He gently touched his forehead to his brother's.

"I'm so, so sorry, Kaoru…" he whispered. "I've been such a fool about everything! Things will be different, I promise! Just…" his voice hitched as he gulped back the lump in his throat. "Just don't die, okay?!"

Haruhi had made it back up to the road, and could hear sirens approaching in the distance. The dog started to shrink at the noise, but she reassuringly put an arm around him. Paramedics were leaping out of the doors as soon as the ambulance came to a stop.

"This way, follow me!" she called. "And, driver!" she turned to the Hitachiin servant, who had followed the ambulance when they past his parked car. "Could you take this dog, please? Make sure nothing happens to it, okay?"

"Y-yes, miss," the driver stuttered, looking at the horrid creature. He hoisted the dog in his arms and proceeded to push the animal, which was somewhat unwilling at first, into the leather seats of his limo. The dog, completely wound up with the entire ruckus, pattered around the plush interior in a quick succession of circles, barking loudly as the driver slammed the door. His long, jagged nails were poking holes in the fine, Italian leather. The driver rolled his eyes with a long sigh. 'At least they found Master Kaoru,' he consoled himself.

Back down in the channel, Haruhi had to put her hands on Hikaru's shoulders and forcibly pull him away as the paramedics carefully lifted Kaoru on to the stretcher. He kept unconsciously gravitating toward his brother, even though they repeatedly asked him to stay back. He swallowed harshly as they strapped Kaoru in for the ascent. Haruhi laced her fingers in his and held his hand tightly for support. He gripped it back so fiercely, she had to struggle not to wince. Hikaru's grasp did not lessen, as they made their way back to the limo. The medics had told them they simply could not fit in the ambulance, and it would be much better for Kaoru if they followed by car. In the limo, the yellow dog had settled in the far corner. He looked at them with his one good eye, tail giving a small wag, as they climbed in and shut the door.

"Look, Demon Dog's tired too," Haruhi chuckled. Hikaru gave a strained smile, and his hand slackened a bit. Haruhi sighed in relief as blood returned to her limb.

"Demon Dog…" he repeated in a small voice. "Not the kindest name for a hero."

"No, but he sure looks like one, doesn't he?"

Hikaru only gave a slight nod, his eyelids drooping heavily. Haruhi put her hand into his red mop of hair and pulled his head down into her shoulder. His eyes closed and there was silence on the ride over. Haruhi knew he wasn't sleeping, but she hoped he was getting a rest of sorts.


	4. Chapter 4

~Chapter 4

Kaoru's mind drifted to strange places. He dreamed about rats, scurrying about his mansion, the disgusting creatures completely swarming over his room, his desk, his bed. His mind briefly flickered to the maid that worked for the Hitachiins when Kaoru and Hikaru were small; the way she looked at them, as she disappeared into the darkness below. She was smiling, but it wasn't kindly. It was as if she were looking at helpless animals in a cage.

Back in his dream, he felt an inexorable amount of stress at the rodent pestilence covering his abode. The utter revulsion was terrifying in a way, and he covered his eyes to block the awful sight.

'_What the…?'_

He looked at the tiny, pink paws in front of his face. _He was a rat._

"…-ten milligrams, stat!…" and unfamiliar voice faded in and out of his consciousness.

'_hey…HEY!' _Kaoru looked up at the ceiling of his familiar, yet unfamiliar room. Scientists, with masked faces and latex gloved hands, reached down from seemingly nowhere with enormous hands, randomly grabbing a rodent from the hoard. The rat's frantic shrieks of horror were so loud, they made Kaoru's ears bleed. It's fear was contagious, and a feeling of pure mortification seeped throughout his entire body. Almost instinctively, he ran towards the giant hand.

'_STOP!!'_

"s-stop it…" The nurse glanced up from inserting the I.V., startled at the sudden mumbling.

"Pay him no mind, he's hallucinating from the fever." the Ootori doctor informed her in an urgent tone. The nurse nodded, curtly, and continued.

All of the rats started to scream. Kaoru bent over in pain, trying to block out the sound. His fell numb, as a gigantic white hand suddenly clenched around his body. He couldn't breathe…

"Heart beats erratic, he's going to crash!!" the doctor said in a strangely calm, but loud, voice. He pulled out the defibrillator as one of the nurses began prepping Kaoru's bruised and bloodied chest.

'_Let me go, let me go, let me go!' _

Kaoru desperately tried to struggle free from the hand, but a strange paralysis had overtaken him. The scientists stared at him, silently; they're enormous glasses reflecting a bright surgical light. They spoke, but he could not understand. Finally, one of the researchers shook his head, and waived in a disposing manner. He felt the hand drop him, and was overcome with an incredible falling sensation.

*THUD*

A powerful shock tore through his body, and Kaoru didn't dream anymore.

"That was close!" The nurse sighed in relief at the sound of the heart monitor beating rhythmically again.

With the breathing tube inserted and the emergency medications taking their affect, the doctor nodded his head in approval. "Call radiology and tell them we'll be there in five minutes. We need a full body scan." He prodded lightly around Kaoru's neck, chest, and abdomen, listening to him breathe. Another paramedic was cleaning a nasty gash on the side of his head. "Probably has a concussion, definitely has some broken bones, and I think his left lung has collapsed. We'll wait for the scans, and as soon as I think his heart can handle it, we'll prep for surgery." The nurse nodded, and began contacting the radiology department on the ambulance speaker.

'I think he's going to be alright. What a lucky, lucky kid! If they hadn't found him when they did, he would have suffocated!'

**

Hikaru's driver tried his best to keep up with the ambulance, and they arrived just as Kaoru was quickly being wheeled into the trauma center. Hikaru was wide awake again and immediately jumped out of the black car doors with a frantic energy. The doctor that had been in the ambulance immediately guessed his intentions, and intercepted them before Hikaru could manage to run through the sliding doors after all of the paramedics and nurses now surrounding his twin.

"He's okay right now." The doctor held up his hands as Hikaru almost plowed right through him.

"When can I see him?!"

"We're not sure about the extent of the damage to his chest, so I can't comment on the surgery," the doctor explained. "But!" he smiled brightly, "The important thing is he's stable right now, so we are optimistic that his chances of survival are pretty good!"

To the doctor's disappointment, Hikaru gave no sign of joy at the news. "P-_pretty good?!" _he choked, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Oh boy…" the doctor nervously ran a hand through his hair at the sight. Bedside manner had never been his strong point. "T-that came out wrong! Um…"

"What he's trying to say is that it's alright; your brother is strong." The doctor let out a sigh of relief, as his nurse stepped in and put an arm around Hikaru. She glared at her superior, but continued. "He's held on this long, and now he's in the care of some of the best, even if not the most THOUGHTFUL, doctors in the world."

The doctor grinned sheepishly at that last comment directed towards him, and followed the rest of his staff inside. Hikaru nodded at her words as he stared in the direction they had taken his brother. Haruhi walked to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me show you two where the waiting room is," the nurse offered gently. "I promise, as soon as I hear word, I'll let you know."

It took the rest of the host club and the twin's parents a little longer to get to the hospital, and Kaoru was already in surgery when they arrived. After waiting a long time, the older, Hitachiin couple had fallen asleep from exhaustion in the corner of the room. Their mother was curled up with her feet on the seats, her head on Mr. Hitachiin's lap, as his head leaned over the back of the chairs against the wall. Everyone had moved to the other side to give them room to sleep.

One of the Hosts' stomachs began to growl, although no one could quite tell who it was. Luckily, Honey had the good sense to stop at a local restaurant on the ride over. He quickly produced an enticing, brown paper bag from his car in the parking lot, and with a still sunny, albeit more subdued, disposition, he walked from friend to friend to hand them them food.

"Sorry, I didn't know what everyone liked," he chattered as he gave a white Styrofoam box to Tamaki.

"As long as it's not cake, Honey-senpai, I'm most grateful," he smiled through tired eyes. Honey winked at him.

"Nah, Tama-chan! I ate all the cake I bought on the way over!"

"That's true," Mori was quick to affirm.

"Here you are, Haru-chan!" Haruhi was sitting next to Tamaki, and had been dozing lightly against his arm. She yawned as she took the box.

"Thanks, Honey-senpai."

She and Tamaki opened their boxes together and stared.

"What…interesting looking commoner food!" Tamaki tried to compliment. He took a bite of the strange looking dish and smiled. "Mmmm, it is tasty though! Hey, is this yogurt?"

Haruhi took a few bites. "Yeah, I think this is Indian food. I've never had it before. It's good and spicy!"

"Spicy, you say?" Kyoya suddenly perked up with an interested look. Honey laughed as he handed him a box.

"Yeah, they were the only place I saw that was open!" he chuckled. He walked up to Hikaru, who was leaning against the far wall next to the doors, with his arms folded. Honey held out a box to him with a smile. Hikaru took it and smiled back, but he didn't open it. Tamaki had already gulped down most of his meal when he called out to him.

"Hikaru! Come sit with us and eat! You've been standing in that same spot since we got here."

"I'm not really hungry."

"You should rest and eat now so you're not dying of exhaustion when Kaoru wakes up," Kyoya said between mouthfuls. Hikaru gave him a glance, but nothing more.

"Kyoya-senpai's right, Hikaru," Haruhi chimed in. She stood up and put her box on her seat. Having now finished his own, Tamaki's hand quickly snaked towards it, but Haruhi warded him off with one of her patented death glares. "We're probably going to be here a while." She leaned against the wall next to the twin as she spoke. He frowned.

"Why haven't we heard anything, yet?" he growled in frustration. "It's been three hours already!"

No one bothered to respond to his question. They all knew perfectly well he wasn't looking for an answer from them.

"Hikaru… Please sit down. You know Kaoru would hate to see you like this," Haruhi pleaded.

"Heh!" Hikaru exhaled with a caustic laugh. Everyone looked up, waiting for the verbal downpour they were sure that a comment like that would invoke, but it never came. Hikaru just bit his lip, and silently went back to watching the door. Haruhi stood next to him in solidarity, but she didn't press him any further. Tamaki, who had been gazing at them silently, smiled as he went to stand next to her. Honey and Mori quickly followed without a word, forming a longer line against the wall. Everyone, except Hikaru, glanced expectantly towards Kyoya, who was still happily enjoying his spicy cuisine. He suddenly caught everyone's eyes, and startled. "_What_!?" he mouthed without sound.

"Get over here!" Tamaki mouthed back, waving quickly.

"God…" Kyoya muttered, as he laid aside his meal. "Touchy feely moments really aren't my style…"

Cranky and tired from being awake the entire night, he clunked up to Hikaru's other side and slapped a hand, heavily, on his shoulder. Hikaru startled in surprise, and scowled at him. However, his face quickly softened when the shadow king gave him the most genuine smile any of the host club had ever seen.

They all watched the door, together, for a long time.

The nurse gasped as she entered the waiting room an hour later. She wasn't expecting all the faces that immediately greeted her right on the other side of the door. "Oh dear!! Umm…, Mr. and Ms. Hitachiin?" She glanced around all of the students crowding her towards the older couple in the corner.

"MOM, DAD, WAKE UP!!" Hikaru yelled. They immediately jolted awake, and at the sight of the nurse, rose quickly.

"You have news about our son?" Yuzuha asked, fearfully gripping her husband's arm. "Is he alright?"

"They are finishing surgery now," the nurse confirmed. "The doctor will be with you in a few moments, but I wanted to let you know that everything went well. We all think he will be just fine."

The collective sigh of relief was quite loud in the room.

"When can we see him!?" Hikaru pressed.

"Soon. We're taking him to intensive care now. He's going to be unconscious for a while, but should wake up some time tomorrow."

Yuzuha hugged her husband tightly, crying softly. He patted her, reassuringly, and smiled at the nurse. "Thank you!" he gushed. "We'll wait for the doctor, then."

Tamaki nearly lifted Hikaru off the ground in an enthusiastic embrace. Hikaru laughed, actually hugging him back for once. Everyone was punch drunk from lack of sleep, and the rest of the host club quickly descended on the pair, patting Hikaru on the back and hugging him in turn.

In the midst of all the commotion, the nurse bowed, and left the room. 'It's so nice to give people good news!' she thought, trying to push the memory of the previous day from her mind. She had to talk with the family of a boy, not much older than the Hitachiin twins, who hadn't been so lucky when a drunk diver hit his bicycle on his short ride home from work. 'Got to just hold on to moments like these, I guess… They're few and far between.'

**

Kaoru slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight was streaming through a large bay window in the whitewashed room onto his face. His first thought was of his brother. He blinked, groggily, and took a breath.

"Hika-OW!!" He grimaced and looked down. Under the thin blanket covering him, he could feel, rather than see, all the stitches and bandages covering his body. He saw the cast covering his entire left leg, and leaned his head into his shoulder with a sigh. Something prickly poked at his skin, and he slowly reached his hand up to feel a heavy bandage under his ear.

'Oh, man…I must look like Frankenstein right now…'

The thought didn't vex him too much, though. The discomfort he felt now was nothing compared to the night of the crash, and he was alive after all!

'Lucky, lucky me…'

He lazily looked at the door. He could hear his mother's muffled voice as she talked a phone in the hall. Blinking slowly, his eyes scanned the room and finally settled on what, or rather who, they were searching for. There was poor Hikaru, slumped over the side of a small armchair in the corner of the room, arms dangling, drooling onto the floor. He was sleeping like the dead. Kaoru smiled warmly. He hadn't been this happy to see his dumb brother's face in a very, very long time.

"Hikaru," his throat was so dry, his voice came out in barely a whisper. He swallowed and tried again. "Hikaru?"

There was a sudden pause in the light snoring, and a second later, Hikaru's head snapped up, eyes wide open. Immediately seeing that his brother was awake, he jumped off the chair, wiping the drool from his face.

"KAORU!"

He raced to the bed in such a speed, that Kaoru thought he was going to jump right on top of him. He flinched, but then relaxed as Hikaru stopped just short of his face. "Kaoru! You're awake! Oh man, you REALLY gave us a scare!" his mouth was running at lightening speed, and his voice was probably a little louder than he meant it to be. Kaoru blinked at him, as the tirade continued. "What were you thinking!? Never mind, I don't want to know! We looked for you all night! Everyone was really worried! I WAS REALLY WORRIED! Why did you take my bike?! I knew you couldn't handle that thing. You sure wrecked it good, huh? Ha ha!" Hikaru started to laugh, but it quickly began to fade into sobbing, as he leaned over the bed, gripping the sheets tightly. "You idiot!!" he cried, shaking his head from side to side. "How could you? How could you do that to me?!"

It took him a moment, but Kaoru smiled in the gentle way he so often did whenever Hikaru was upset. He put his hand on his brother's clenched fist, and squeezed it lightly.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru... I know you're angry. I'm really sorry."

**

Yuzuha had wrapped up the emergency conference call with her staff, as she had suddenly become absent from fashion week.

Opening the door slowly, she peered inside to check on her boys. Having fallen asleep again, Hikaru was curled up next to Kaoru on the small hospital bed, holding his arm protectively. Kaoru was still awake, and he glanced up at his mother as she entered quietly. Almost tip-toeing up to the other side of the bed, she smiled at him with tears in her eyes.

"Hi, mom," Kaoru whispered.

"Hi, sweetheart!" She whispered back, and gently took his free hand in hers. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got thrown off a cliff, but these pain meds make it pretty alright," he grinned. "Still hard to sleep, though."

"I'll bring you some books later," she offered.

"What about your show?" Kaoru asked, wide eyed. "This is the busiest time of year for you, isn't it?"

"Oh, Kaoru, none of that really matters to me right now," she pulled a small stool over next to him. "Look at him!" She nodded toward Hikaru. "Sleeping like a baby, I'm glad."

"How long was I out for?"

"A couple of days. They had to perform surgery on one of your lungs and reset three ribs. They also had to fix your knee and ankle," she nodded toward his large cast.

"Is that where the car hit me?" Kaoru asked rather simply. His mother stared at him with a blank expression.

"Car?"

"Yeah, you know," Kaoru sighed, trying to move the arm Hikaru was holding. It was starting to fall asleep. "The one that nearly sent me plummeting to my death?"

His mother frowned as she seemed to be choosing her words before she spoke.

"Kaoru,...there was no car. You see, sweetheart, well, remember when you were really small, and you used to feel dizzy a lot?"

"N- no...not really."

"There was a problem with your heart when you were born."

"My heart?!" Hikaru stirred at Kaoru's raised voice.

"Well, not really your heart, it was the heart valves. It caused a murmur, irregularities in your heart beat," she continued on in an even quieter tone so as not to wake Hikaru further. Kaoru stared at her, wide eyed. "They told us everything was fine after they performed a small surgery to correct it, but there was always a slight chance it could reoccur."

Kaoru's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe he was hearing this for the first time.

"We would have told you," she continued on, her eyes beginning to mist. "But Hikaru begged us not too, and since everything seemed fine, we decided to honor his wish. He's done such a good job keeping an eye on you all these years, probably too good of a job. You were starting to go a little stir crazy, I think!" She laughed, but there was little merriness in her voice. "Kaoru, darling, if we'd only known, we never thought-"

"It's alright, Mom." Kaoru comforted her. "If I even did remember, distant memories of feeling "dizzy" from my childhood wouldn't have kept me from driving my entire life. This might as well have been the first time it ever happened," he chuckled dryly. "So, I am the weak one after all, eh?"

"I don't know about that," his mother rose and smiled at him. "I see a boy who just survived a night alone in the wilderness with a terrible injury, and is still the one to comfort his brother." She shrugged. "You seem pretty strong to me."

Embarrassed for a moment, Kaoru side stepped her comment. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, what happened to my dog?"

"Your what?" Yuzuha replied flatly.

"Dog, my dog. He stayed with me the entire night. Did anyone see him when you found me?"

"Oh...yes...Haruhi was telling me she and Hikaru saw your bracelet tied to the...thing. They followed the dog back to you, I think."

"Ah, so it worked after all! That dog saved my life! I would have frozen to death without him."

"Is that so?" His mother sighed. "I guess what you're telling me is that miserable looking creature will be taking up residence in our lovely house?"

"Mom!" Kaoru frowned.

"Alright, alright," she relented, closing the door with a wink. "I'll have the driver take him to the groomers today, and we'll hope for a miracle. You try to get some rest now; all your friends want to see you when they get home from school."

"Thanks, Mom."

The rest of the host club arrived late in the evening, completely surrounding Kaoru on all sides. Tamaki had many, many bouquets of flowers, to "transform the drab surroundings to a place more befitting of beautiful people", and proceeded to place them everywhere about the room. Hikaru rolled his eyes at this, but looked mildly interested in all of the sweets Honey brought. He took the pastry box from Kaoru and began eating them.

"Hey, Hika-chan, Those are for Kao-chan!" Honey protested.

"What?! He can't eat them anyway!" Hikaru said defensively over a mouthful of lemon tart. Honey brought his hands up to his face, his eyes watering melodramatically.

"I didn't know! I'm sorry, Kao-chan!" he sniffled. Mori patted him on the head. Kaoru just chuckled.

"I appreciate it anyway, Honey-senpai! It's good to see everyone."

"Good to see you alive!" Haruhi shot back. She ruffled his hair playfully. "Sure had us fooled for a moment! You really got the waterworks going around here!"

"I swear I will never buy another motorcycle ever again," Hikaru vowed, holding up is fist full of jelly bun most earnestly.

"And I...will never steal another one," Kaoru quickly added. "By the way...well..thanks. Thanks for everything. If it weren't for you guys, I probably wouldn't be alive right now.

"Well, I suppose my family's police force found all the places in Japan you _weren't_," Kyoya's tone of voice was rather wry. "Tying your bracelet to that dog was good thinking, though."

"Yeah, we might not have seen you all the way down there without Demon Dog," Haruhi nodded.

"_Demon Dog_!?" Kaoru lifted his eyebrows and then knit them with a frown. "What kind of a name is that?"

"Definitely one that fits!" Tamaki said, his face paling slightly as he remembered seeing the dog the previous day. "Poor, unfortunate beast looks like something out of a horror film!"

"Hm-hm!" Honey nodded eagerly. "I thought he would be the cutest thing ever, if he saved you and all, but jeez!"

"It _is_ kind of hard to look at him," Hikaru glanced at Kaoru out of the corner of his eye. "Are you really keeping him?"

"Listen to you guys!!" Kaoru closed his eyes as he spoke in a half-serious, indignant way. "Just because something's not pretty and shiny on the outside, you're ready to just get rid of it?"

"_Hmph!_," Kyoya smirked, readjusting his glasses. "That sounds like something our good, commoner friend, Haruhi would say."

"I don't have a problem with Demon Dog." She shrugged. "And besides, guys, I'm sure he'll look a lot better once he gets a bath and a hair cut, right?

Later that night, after visiting hours were over, the host club was seeing Hikaru to the door of his home when the very dog in question came bounding out the front door, a big red ribbon tied around his neck and a tail wagging most happily.

"Oh, Haruhi…," Tamaki whispered, wide eyed. "I think this is the one time you're REALLY going to have to admit you were wrong." Haruhi just laughed at the ridiculous bow tied around the still pretty damn ugly, albeit cleaner, mutt of a dog.

"The name stays," Mori declared grimly. The dog barked, and everyone unanimously nodded.

***

Ok, think we've seen enough of the hospital scene for now. Next, in chapter five, we get on with it already! Woof!


	5. Chapter 5

After what seemed like eternity rather than two weeks, Kaoru was finally released from the hospital to the care of his family's personal physicians, under the condition he stay on bed rest. Kaoru was ecstatic as Hikaru, rather than the nurse that was standing nearby, helped him into a wheelchair. He was so ready to be gone from the sterile site and smell of the hospital, but much to his chagrin, was intercepted by the Ootori doctor just as they were reaching the doors.

"Now, I know you're excited to leave, _but…_" and so the diatribe began. Kaoru nodded at the doctor eagerly, trying his best to look like he was listening. But it was hard, as this damn doctor was the only thing that stood between them and the exit to the outside world. Hikaru could see his impatience to leave, and every now and then, Kaoru's finger would tap against the armrest of his wheelchair in frustration.

"Your ribs have healed up quite nicely, but we still need to give your leg more time, as the tendons in your knee were badly damaged," the doctor droned on. "I know it doesn't hurt so badly now, but the injury takes a while to heal."

_Tap_ went the finger.

"And even once the cast is removed, you're going to have to go to intensive therapy for a long time before you regain full use of it."

_Tap, tap. _Hikaru smirked as he leaned against the handles over Kaoru's head.

"So it's important to remember you're not invincible, and to take it easy. Pain medication sometimes makes you forget just how tender you still are."

_Tap, tap, tap._

"And you can't get your cast wet-"

"Doctor!" Kaoru pleaded, trying to look around the long white coat to the parking lot beyond. "I promise I'll be really, really careful! You won't be seeing me again, I swear!"

The doctor sighed and shook his head. "I certainly hope not, but I'll believe you this time." He stepped aside and opened the door for them. A small smile caught his lips, as he watched the twins speed past, but it quickly turned into a frown.

"We have lift off!" Hikaru yelled, as he popped the wheelchair on it's back wheels down the small, paved hill towards their limo. Kaoru just laughed loudly as Hikaru raced him toward the diver standing next to the open cabin. The poor man had to practically leap out of the way, as the wheel chair almost tipped over into him with the sudden stop. The diver, thoroughly vexed, fussed at Hikaru the entire time he helped his brother into the car. The doctor shook his head again, but couldn't suppress a chuckle at their games as he returned to his rounds.

Everyone was surprised at how much happier Kaoru seemed after returning home. Whenever the other hosts came to visit, they usually found him either reading or drawing in an outdoor recliner on the veranda overlooking the gardens, with Demon Dog hovering nearby. There was no doubt Kaoru was the favorite, (it certainly wasn't any of the wait staff, who spent most of the time chasing him around with a rolled up newspaper when he overturned a garbage can). There seemed to be an unusual calm about the Hitachiin twin that no one had ever seen, and they all collectively wondered what it was all about.

Kyoya found the new Zen twin one lazy, warm afternoon, somehow holding a cigarette and a small paperback in one hand, and his other absent mindedly stroking Demon Dog's head as the dog slept next to his chair.

"I'm surprised you have time to read leisure novels with finals coming up."

"Oh," Kaoru hastily put down the book and ground out his cigarette as Kyoya approached. "Well, it's in English, so I guess it's helping me study for that." He sat up and swung the less offensive leg brace the doctor had replaced the cast with earlier that week over the edge. "How was school today? Club activities over already?"

"Well, we've decided to cut it short this weekend to give everyone time to study, including our clients." Kyoya explained, as he picked up the book Kaoru had been reading from the side table, _Into the Wild._ He returned it with a chuckle. "Pretty depressing read!"

"I guess it depends on how you look at it." Kaoru shrugged. Kyoya eyed him for a moment.

"I suppose… So, Hikaru told us you'll be able to come back to school on Monday."

"That's right! What a relief! Schooling at home is sooo boring."

"I don't know, you can't smoke at school, after all." Kaoru look the other way, slightly embarrassed. He hadn't meant for someone like Kyoya to catch him smoking. "Where is Hikaru, anyway?"

"He's going to see a movie with Haruhi today. Last time she was here, she kept talking about some silly horror film she wanted to see, so I made him take her. There's no reason both of us should be trapped here all the time, anyway."

Kyoya let out an audible sigh. "You're spending more time apart than ever, now. What about the brotherly love! What will I tell your clients?" His tone was ridiculously despairing, and Kaoru knew he wasn't serious. He laughed.

"I don't know, it seems like Hikaru's been making quite a splash with all of his crying over my injuries, or so he tells me."

"That's true. I'm surprised he's been able to entertain them solo all this time. I doubt it will ever be as popular as the whole forbidden love gimmick, though."

Kaoru wrinkled up his nose a bit. "Well, it's the end of the school year, anyway. And besides…I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

Kyoya smiled knowingly, and touched his glasses with his index finger. "I guessed as much. I think I know what you're going to say. I suppose there's nothing I can do to persuade you."

"No," Kaoru said simply, as he patted Demon Dog's back. The dog sleepily raised his head, giving his tail a thump. "My mind's made up. The only real question is how am I going to tell Hikaru?"

"You haven't already?!" It was rare for Kyoya to be surprised by anything, but this was just shocking to him. "Oh my, don't tell me you'll be leaving a complete drama queen on our hands. We already have one of those at the Host Club."

"I'm waiting till after finals. I don't know, I think he'll understand." Kaoru's voice was hopeful.

(One week later…)

"Hikaru,, you don't understand!!" Kaoru was yelling through a locked bedroom door Hikaru had just slammed in his face. "It'll only be for a while!"

"I can't believe you're serious!" his brother hollered back.

"Hikaru…" Kaoru sighed, quickly finding a dusty key atop the door frame. He unlocked the door and opened it slowly. "Hikaru, I just feel like this is something I have to do."

"But you just have to do it so far away from _me_, right?!"

"…Yes." Hikaru was sitting on the bed, and quickly turned the other way as Kaoru limped in, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "Hikaru, don't you see that neither of us will ever grow into complete people if we stay like this?"

"We'll quit the host club, then!" Hikaru clenched his eyes shut. "Isn't that what you want? We'll quit and we can stay together!"

"Hmph," Kaoru smiled, putting his hand on his hip. "Admit it. You don't like that idea at all. You like our friends, and you like be a part of something bigger than you and me." Hikaru bit his lip, and stared down at his feet. "And I also think you're not nearly as torn up about us being apart as you thought you would be."

Hikaru didn't say anything, but Haruhi's words from the night of the accident suddenly flitted through his mind.

Changes are very scary, indeed.

A small, half smile slowly appeared. Before Kaoru could do anything about it, he was suddenly gripped tightly, and pulled onto the bed in a tight hug.

"Idiot…" Hikaru muttered. Kaoru didn't say anything; he just let his brother squeeze the life out of him as he spoke. "Alright, if it's that important to you…I guess you should go." He released his twin from his death grip, and Kaoru coughed, straightening out his shirt. "But you know Mom's going to say no. She'd never agree to a crazy plan like this."

"I'm not going to ask Mom, I'm asking dad. I'm thinking of spinning the whole, 'It'll make a man out of me' act. What father can resist that?"

Hikaru chuckled. "True…but, man! It's really going to suck without you! What am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

His cell phone suddenly rang, and Haruhi's number appeared on the face of the phone.

"Oh, gee, I don't know!" Kaoru winked. "I'm sure you'll think of something!"

Hikaru frowned at his phone for ringing at a time like this, and with a slight blush, hit ignore. "But seriously, you have to call me, like, every day! Alright? And I get to visit you on holidays!"

"Of course, of course!" Kaoru chuckled.

"So, where are you going? London? Paris? Milan?"

"Nope! They'll know who I am there, and I want to be a completely ordinary student."

Hikaru stared at his brother with obvious concern. "Kaoru, you can't mean…" The sparkle in his twin's eye was making him nervous. Hikaru gulped. "You're going to…to the _United States_?"

"Yes!!" Kaoru replied excitedly, fetching a paper map from on top his dresser and laying it across the bed. A DVD of _A Streetcar Named Desire _fell unceremoniously onto the bead spread. "And I'm going HERE!" His finger landed on a boot-leg shaped state along the coast. Kaoru looked.

"L-…Louis…Kaoru! This is practically suicide! You can't go _there_! What about New York? Mom always really liked New York!"

"NO!" Kaoru folded his arms stubbornly. "They know who we are in New York! And besides, I've been chatting with someone from New Orleans a lot in a book discussion forum. Sounds like a pretty fun place, and I want to see it for myself!"

"But you'll get shot!" Hikaru sounded matter of fact. "You know what our geography teacher said! How could you possibly want to go to a miserable place like that!?"

"Huh, from the way you talk, sounds like you've been there and sent postcards or something!" Kaoru huffed. "How are you so sure what it's like? Why don't you reserve judgment until you've seen it!"

Hikaru blinked at his brother for a while and then laughed. "Sure! You won't last more than a week there before you come crying home!" Kaoru just scowled at him. "Think about it! This place might as well be a third world country to you! No way will you survive!"

Kaoru just shrugged at him. "I guess we'll see, won't we? I've already sent my enrollment request to a public high school in the area."

"_Public_?!" Hikaru practically choked.

"Yep, I'm not taking money from Mom and Dad. I've got my savings, and I'm doing this all on my own."

Hikaru stared at his brother with his mouth gaping open for a while. "Have you gone completely insane!?" he finally stuttered. "How the hell are you going to live on your own?!"

"I'll get a job. I already have a temporary visa, it shouldn't be a problem."

Hikaru threw up his hands and walked out of the room, yelling something along the lines of Kaoru being as dumb as his dog was ugly. But Kaoru's resolve did not lessen, as he faced the rest of the Host Club at the annual end of the school year ball. Of course, Mori and Honey had already graduated the previous year, but they still participated in all Host Club events. Honey was staring at Kaoru with large brown eyes.

"You're really going away, Kao-chan? For a whole year? To America?"

"That's right, I leave in a couple of weeks. Already have my plane ticket, and it's so totally coach!" Kaoru laughed. Everyone stared at him in horror, except Haruhi.

"B-but…wouldn't you rather take a private jet?" Tamaki gasped. "I hear that in coach, you actually have to sit next to people, and you have to sleep sitting up!"

"Whoa! Kao-chan's brave!" Honey cheered. "I've never flown coach before!"

"Well, it was two hundred dollars cheaper, and if I'm going to be living on my own, I need to learn to watch my budget."

This elicited even more terrified stares from the club. Hikaru sighed and shrugged. "I've tried talking him out of it, but he won't listen to me. He's completely gone off the deep end!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "I think what Kaoru's doing is really cool!" she defended. "I would love to study abroad for a year! Think of all the interesting things he'll see and learn. You guys are all just happy living in a bubble!" she pointed accusingly at the rest of the host club, who had become momentarily distracted by the virgin daiquiris covered in tropical fruit Tamaki had delivered to their table.

"Haruhi! Don't be so mean to your papa!" Tamaki whimpered, poking at a strawberry on top his drink. "After all, this is the last night Kyoya and I get to be here at the school before college!"

"Tamaki-senpai, you make it sound like we'll never see each other again!" Haruhi sighed. "I know I'm going to find you almost every day after school, bouncing off the walls as usual!"

"It's true," Kyoya confirmed, slowly sipping his drink. "We do plan on continuing host activities as usual. I still have plenty of research to do on the college demographic once we start at the university."

Haruhi squinted her eyes at him. "Kyoya-senpai, you really think girls in college are interested in this Host Club sort of thing?"

"Well, if the reactions from our current client's mothers are anything to go by, it seems there is no discerning age group who wouldn't enjoy our club. After all, Mori and Honey already have scores of fans."

"That's true!" Honey beamed. Mori grunted. Haruhi did her best not to look so disappointed in her own sex.

"It's true my dear!" Tamaki sparkled, flipping his hair back. "You are never too old to appreciate great beauty in men! I think we all can agree that is the greatest lesson we learned from the Greeks!"

"I'm pretty sure they were appreciating more than beauty," Haruhi muttered, but she couldn't stop a smile. As people were slowly gathering on the dance floor after dinner, she rose from the table, straightening out her vest and jacket. As it was a very late party, Kyoya had ordered completely black tuxes for the entire club, with blue ties and blue roses in the pocket. "I'm not ready to get nabbed by a girl for dancing yet," she grinned. "Hey, Kaoru!"

"What?" he startled from checking his email on a phone.

"Why don't you walk outside with me? This will probably be the last time I see you before I leave for vacation to visit my Aunt with my Dad, right?"

"O-oh!" he blinked, and quickly glanced at Hikaru out of the corner of his eye. His brother was looking towards some of their familiar customers walking in their direction. "One second." Kaoru gently nudged Hikaru's shoulder to let him know he was aware of the girls, and said in quite the loud, coquettish tone, "Hikaru, I think I need some fresh air, my leg is hurting me terribly!"

Hikaru turned, gripping his hand fiercely. The girls stopped dead in their tracks, holding their breath. "Kaoru, are you alright? I should never have made you come here tonight!"

"Oh, I'll be fine," Kaoru's voice was shaky, as he slowly stood up. "Ow!-"

"Kaoru!"

Kaoru slightly stumbled as he rose, but Hikaru was quick to catch him. They both gazed dreamily into each other's eyes, and Haruhi tried to suppress a chuckle as the girls started squealing. Although for different reasons than their customers, she had grown quite fond of the twins and their silly antics over the past two years. In fact, she was sad Kaoru would be leaving, but her good sense told her that it would probably be for the better.

After their heart-melting charade was over, Kaoru limped pathetically over in her direction. As soon as the girls had turned their attention to a most upset and in need of consolation Hikaru Hitachiin, Kaoru suddenly straitened his posture.

"Alright, let's go." He motioned towards the door, suddenly capable of walking quite well. Haruhi let out a small snort at the ridiculousness of it all, and quickly followed.

She trailed behind him as he made his way to an isolated bench across the courtyard, behind a wall of bushes. It was dark outside, but the bright lights from the main building cast a small glow, illuminating the yard. Haruhi plopped down on the bench next to Kaoru.

"You gonna light up?"

"What? Me? Uh..,"

"It's alright. I figured that's why you chose this spot," She smiled a friendly smile. "But just so you know, I totally don't approve. Smoking's really bad for you! I still can't get my dad to quit."

"Hmph," Kaoru already had a cigarette between his lips and was in the process of lighting it. "You know," he blew out a steady stream of smoke, "They say smokers tend to be nervous people, but I think it's just bored people."

"Perhaps…So, hey! Louisiana, huh?" She punched his shoulder lightly. "You sure you know what you're getting into?"

"Can't be any worse than where you live," he grinned evilly. She scowled at him, and he laughed. "Oh come on! Just go ahead and tell me what you wanted to talk about."

"Well, I was worried about you. I just wanted to make sure you're alright." Surprised, Kaoru regarded her with a puzzled look. "I mean…I think what you're doing is really good. I think everyone should live in another country for a while, even rich brats like you guys. But…it has to be for the right reasons."

Kaoru smiled as he took another drag, but said nothing.

"Kaoru, are you sure you want to go through with this? I mean, I know things were really bad before your accident, but,"

"I know what you're trying to say, Haruhi, and I appreciate it. Truth is, you're probably right. I'm sure this is just some sort of pathetic escapism playing itself out, but even so," he slowly ground out the half burned cigarette. "I don't know, I just hope that I'm better than this."

"This?" Haruhi echoed.

Kaoru shook his head and looked at her with a sad smile. Haruhi had to fight the compulsion to blush a little. He and Hikaru really were quite handsome, and their soft, golden eyes could look so warm and peaceful when they wished.

"I guess…" he looked past her as he spoke. "I guess I just want to see…if this is it. I mean, if this _is_ all there is, then what have I been waiting for?"

Haruhi smiled and stared at her loafers. "You're a tad bit more existential than your brother, you know that, right? You guys are twins, but you really are nothing alike."

Kaoru chuckled. "I guess I should thank you. You seem to be the only person who's ever noticed. If everyone were like you, I probably wouldn't be doing this."

"Well, hey, you are doing it, so good luck to you!" Haruhi patted him on the back as they stood. "But we're really going to miss you around here, ya know? Who knows what Hikaru will be like without you around to keep him in line!"

Kaoru looked down at the small, unassuming girl that had caused so much of he and his brother's world to change. "I think he'll be just fine without me."


	6. Chapter 6

Kaoru stepped off the plane, utterly exhausted. He was pretty sure that had to be a coincidently horrid night for the staff, as none of the flight attendants had responded to his inquiries/desires with much enthusiasm. He also hadn't slept a wink the entire ride to California, where he needed to transfer flights. Who'd ever heard of such a thing, anyway? Kaoru was more than frustrated, as he was stuck in a foreign airport for three hours while his flight was delayed. Poor Demon Dog was stuck in a pet carrier the entire time with cargo. He was already exhausted from preparing for his trip, and from the insanely over the top, surprise birthday party/going away party his mother and the host club had thrown for him and his brother. Tamaki had conspired a bit with their mother to go crazy with the French clown theme, and it was a cornucopia of noise and colors. Kaoru was excited about the festivities, but demanded no presents. However, a small silver clover charm now dangled from his neck.

"Sorry, Kaoru," Haruhi sounded anything but, as she handed one of the matching necklaces to Hikaru. "I know you said no gifts, but these came in pairs! I know they're not expensive, but I just thought they were so cute! So you have to take the other one for Hikaru."

Hikaru, of course, was overjoyed at the thoughtful present from his female friend, and even more overjoyed at the displeased scowls emanating from Tamaki nearby. Kaoru just smiled fondly at his brother and held out his hand for the matching necklace. "They are kind of cute," he admired, holding his up to the light before putting it on. "Why a clover?"

"Cause you guys are lucky to have each other, and we're lucky to know you!" Haruhi smiled in her rare, sweet way. "Happy birthday!"

"AAAAH!! HARUHI YOU ARE JUST THE CUTEST THING EVER!!!" Tamaki gushed, hugging her tight against his chest and spinning around in circles.

"Hey! Put me down!!"

Kaoru had to smile remembering it all. 'Oh well, this too shall pass, as they say.'

But as each hour dragged on into another, "what the hell' was all he could think as he slowly tripped his way back up the ramp when he thought he finally heard his seat number called.

"Excuse me, sir," a foreign English voice snapped him out of his disgruntled reverie. "You've been _randomly _selected for a search. If you'd please step this way…" the employee gestured towards a rather unfriendly looking security guard with a metal detector.

"Oh, okay." Kaoru was too tired to fuss at this point. He walked over to the man with the grim look. "Hi, how are you doing?" he tried his best to make his English sound natural.

"Spread 'em," the guard said flatly.

"Uh, _nani?_"

The policeman just sighed, abruptly jerked Kaoru's arms in the air, and quickly scanned him with the detector. An obnoxious beep echoed around the room when it passed over his groin area.

'Oh, belt,' Kaoru quickly removed the offending object from under his shirt, and let the officer continue his job. He was trying his best not to feel utterly humiliated at the stares from the other passengers, suddenly wondering if Haruhi had to deal with things like this all the time back home. He doubted it.

"Clean," the security guard's voice was just as flat as previously. He gave Kaoru a small shove back towards the boarding line. Kaoru couldn't help but feel like a farm animal being herded, and without thinking, pushed the man's hand away from his shoulder in irritation. The policeman gave a slight guffaw at the motion and laughed. "Brat!" he sneered, turning back to the conversation he was having before the interruption.

'Commoner!' Kaoru seethed inwardly. He was trying his best to put on a brave face, but it was the first time he'd been completely surrounded by such unfamiliarity. The land, the people; he knew it would be different, but he didn't' expect it to be so disorienting. For the first time, he was beginning to regret having come here without Hikaru. He knew how much easier his brother would have made everything. He wouldn't have given the blank stares he was constantly receiving a second thought if his brother were at his side. In the very least, he could have chalked it up to just how fetching they looked together, but now, he didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to stare back? That didn't seem to go over big. Was he supposed to just ignore it? That seemed to work better.

Kaoru slumped down in his cushioned, yet still uncomfortable chair. Well, at least he was next to a window.

"Hey, dude, can I sit there. I get _wicked_ sick unless I'm next to a window."

Kaoru stared at the native beach boy who had just accosted his ears. "Yes, okay…" he muttered, moving over to the middle seat.

"Thanks, Jap!"

Kaoru just pretended to not hear, and put on the headphones his brother had leant him for the trip. His stomach was already in knots. Maybe this was a really bad idea… Kaoru glanced at his watch and saw it was three in the morning back home. He leaned back in the uncomfortable seat and slowly started to doze. He didn't wake until his row mate began poking him.

"Little duuuuuude," he whispered, roughly. "Weeee're heeeeere."

Kaoru blearily opened his eyes, squinting. It was completely dark outside the plane windows. He slapped the hand rudely jabbing into his arm with a stern frown.

"Well, _excuse_ me!" The Californian scoffed. He plowed passed Kaoru's legs to the main aisle, grabbing a duffle bag from overhead. Kaoru immediately regretted his actions, and sighed with his head hanging low.

'Quite the impression I'm making on my big debut to America,' he though unhappily. He then brightened as he realized he'd finally reached his destination. After most of the passengers had filed past his row, he quickly removed his one bag from the cargo overhead, and sided down the aisle. He couldn't see much outside, but he could already smell the incredibly hot and moist air. He walked limply through the tunnel to the outside gate, and rode the train to the baggage claim concourse, trying to stay brave. Everything was just so odd! Kaoru didn't really know what to make of the half deserted, 'Louis Armstrong Airport' as he lightly stepped through the corridors with his bags. He just hoped that when he reached the outside, his internet friend would be waiting for him.

Having 'claimed' Demon Dog, Kaoru let him run around outside on a long leash, up and down the empty sidewalk. As the minutes slowly ticked by, he found himself wondering about the person he'd be living with. He really didn't know that much about him. He didn't even know his real name, but he did know that 'tarranon' was a big reader, and seemed to put up with the slight language barrier. They hadn't discussed much besides books, but the American had sounded thrilled at the prospect of Kaoru visiting, and had offered him a place to stay if he wanted.

Kaoru tried to fight the anxiety of disappointment as he stood on an empty street outside baggage. He was fingering his cell phone, nervously, and finally speed dialed Hikaru.

"Hey!" Hikaru, still wide awake, yelled over the slight static. "Can you hear me all the way over there?! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine!" Kaoru laughed at the massive concern in his voice. "I'm in!"

"How was the flight?"

"It was alright," Kaoru lied. "I'm waiting for my ride now."

"Why don't you just call a cab?"

"Eh, he said he'd be here." Kaoru looked at the digital time on a display over his head. "I'll give him a few more minutes." He could hear Hikaru yawning on the other side. "It's pretty late over there, why don't you turn in."

"No way! Not until this guy shows up!" Hikaru challenged. "So, how does it look over there?"

"Well…" Kaoru glanced around the empty concrete. "Not like much in the dark."

"Hey, 'host6/9'?" an unfamiliar voice called. Kaoru quickly turned around to see a slightly older boy, with olive colored skin and dark, shaggy hair, staring at him expectantly. He unconsciously gripped the charm around his neck.

"Got to go," Kaoru whispered. "Call you tomorrow."

Before Hikaru could begin to protest, he quickly hung up his phone and directed his full attention to the somewhat scraggly looking youth. The boy laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, so it is you! Wow, this place is deserted late at night. I've never gotten to park in the front row before!" He seemed to be a little nervous, and glanced around, not knowing quite what to say. Neither did Kaoru, really. "Uh, so, the name's Matt! Welcome to the states, I guess! This is your first time here, right?" He thrust out his hand honestly. Kaoru grinned and gave it a firm shake.

"Yeah. Hitachiin, Kaoru."

"Wait!" Matt drew his hand away and spun his finger around trying to think. "Hitachiin's your last name, right? So, I call you Kaoru? Or do you go by your last name? Help me out here; I've been confusing myself with Japanese customs all afternoon!"

Kaoru chuckled. "Kaoru, just call me Kaoru. It's good to meet you!"

"You, too, there guy!" Matt grinned, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. He was slightly taller than Kaoru, but with the way he slouched, they were eye level. "Man, you don't look anything like I thought you would!" he blurted out. Kaoru tilted his head in a questioning way. "I mean, you have red hair! What the hell? And your clothes! They're really cool! I guess you must be part of the hip crowd back home, huh?"

Kaoru shrugged sheepishly, suddenly not trusting his English so much. Demon Dog came padding over to investigate the stranger. Matt drew back in a bit of shock at the sight of the dog. "God damn, that's an ugly dog, man!" he breathed. "Is that yours?"

Kaoru looked at his poor, constantly rejected pet, and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, eh, my dog, Demon Dog. No trouble, I promise!" Kaoru hoped that came out kind of right. The way Matt threw back his head and laughed heartily made him nervous. He stooped down and put his arm around Demon Dog, who just sat there panting with a dumb look.

"What a funny name! No worries, man! I've got a dog too! Pretty much everyone here does! I'll bet they'll be pals in no time." He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn and looked at his watch. "Ah, wow, look at the time! I'll bet you're exhausted! Come on!" he waved at him. "Car's over here." Kaoru quickly shouldered his bag and followed him.

"This is all kind of weird for me," Matt talked as he drove the shabby, broke down Ford Tempo. Every time the engine shuddered, Kaoru nervously looked to Matt for reassurance. When he'd first laid eyes on the car fifteen minutes ago, he had been doubtful the dilapidated thing would even start!

"Na- what?" he startled at the sudden conversation.

"Oh, just having a foreign student come stay at my place for a year. I dunno, sounded like fun when you mentioned it! And god knows I have nothing better to do! Besides, you seem like an okay guy, yeah?"

Kaoru laughed nervously, not quite sure what he meant. "And…what do you do, I mean, where do you work?" he queried.

"Oh, I'm a bartender down at a hole in the wall near the French Quarter. It's a pretty good gig, I was really lucky to get it right after turning 21. My mom knows the owner."

"Oh…" Kaoru nodded, wondering what was so lucky about being a bartender. "And…school, er, college?"

"Ha, school! I dropped out when I was 17 and never went back!"

"B-but you read a lot," Kaoru tried to reason out loud. "Why quit school?"

"Yeah, it's kind of weird when you put it that way…but I _like_ to read. And I guess I do what I like most of the time, which is why school and I was never a good match. Does that make sense?" At Kaoru's blank stare, he just sighed as he veered toward their exit. "Ah, geez, don't get me wrong. I'm not a hooligan or anything. I don't know, I just didn't care about it. But let's talk about YOU! Tell me about yourself. I know you like to read novels, what else do you like to do?"

"Draw."

"Ah, wicked cool! An artist, huh? You'll fit right in here! This town is full of artists! Hey, we'll have to go sightseeing in the next couple days. After all, your school doesn't start for a few weeks, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I mostly work nights, so yeah! Ah, this is going to be so cool! I'm glad you decided to come here! I'm going to make sure this year is one you'll remember for the rest of your life, my friend!"

Kaoru wasn't aware at the time just how true those words would prove to be, but he smiled at the enthusiasm. After that, Matt asked him lots of questions about his family, and life in Japan, but Kaoru gave pretty vague answers to most of them. He could tell Matt was about as common as they got, and had no intention of bringing up his family's fortune and social standing. All he was willing to divulge was that his mother worked in the clothing industry and he had a brother.

"Oh, is your brother older or younger than you?"

"Older." It technically wasn't a lie, right?

"I see. I have four brothers, two older and one younger. They don't live around here anymore, though. So, what do you want to do tomorrow? I have the day off."

Kaoru thought about it for a moment.

"Shopping."

"_Shopping?_" Matt snorted. "What the hell for?"

"Clothes," Kaoru said simply.

Matt laughed nervously. "Uuuh, shopping for clothes… They didn't have clothes in Tokyo or something?"

"Not like yours, I want _your_ clothes."

"Ah, come on, you don't want to flaunt your funky Asian style all over the place? It's kind of cool!"

"No!" Kaoru frowned. That was really the last thing he wanted.

"Alrighty!" Matt blinked at Kaoru's serious gaze and turned his eyes back to the empty highway. "Guess we're hitting up the Esplanade first thing tomorrow, then."

Matt didn't really know what to make of this weird, quiet, red-headed high school kid now riding in his car. He was obviously from a wealthy family, something he hadn't expected. He wondered why some rich kid would want to come here, especially to stay with some poor guy and go to a public school. Questions began to spark in his mind, but he quickly stomped them out. This whole affair was kind of a lark, after all, and he'd been feeling particularly bored as of late. Besides, he couldn't let his girlfriend think she had been right. She had smacked him upside the head when he told her a foreign exchange student was coming to live with him for a year.

"Come on, Rachel, it'll be fun!!" Matt had whined pitifully. "I've got nothing better to do! It'll be like having a baby! You know how you're always telling me you want one of those!" he joked.

"You're such a retard!!" Rachel practically screamed, smacking him in the shoulder. "How about you stop finding distractions, get a REAL job, and marry me like you promised!"

"Uhh, we were 15 when I promised that."

"Argh! You drive me insane!" she gripped her hands in her long black hair with frustration. "You're always doing the most random things, Matt!! Last week, you were obsessed with GO tournaments, and the week before that, all I heard about was how you were going to own an alpaca farm one day! You're like a psychotic butterfly flitting around all the time, and never actually doing anything!"

"Ouch!" Matt pouted. He then coyly wrapped his arms around her waist and put his chin on top her head. She sighed and leaned against his chest as he stroked her hair. He knew she always found that particularly irresistible.

"What parents in their right mind would let their son come live with you, anyway…" she muttered. He laughed, and ruffled her hair.

"Very distracted ones, I guess! Just from chatting with him, he seems to be quite the independent little fellow. He has pretty bright opinions too, for a seventeen year old."

"Matt," her voice was flat as she pulled away from him. "You better not teach this kid to be an irresponsible bum like you," she warned. "I swear to god, if I find out you've been giving him alcohol or keeping him up all night with your random parties, I'll call his parents and his little Asian butt will be back in China so fast, it'll make your head spin!"

Matt feigned a shocked look. "Who, me? Give an underage kid alcohol? I'm hurt you would even suggest such a thing! Oh, and he's from Japan, not China."

"Whatever!" she growled. "Matt, this kid's not your plaything. You need to grow up!"

Matt heaved a sigh as he pulled the car over to the side of some cracked, dimly lit road in front of a string of old, city houses. "Well, here we are! Home sweet home!" The driver side door popped open with a rusty creak. "Here, I'll help you with your bags."

Kaoru sleepily tumbled out of the car and let Demon Dog out of the backseat. He followed Matt, who had the rest of his luggage, up large stone steps to the front porch. He noticed how high the main level of the house stood from the ground, and asked Matt about it.

"Oh, that's because of the flooding." Matt explained in a quiet whisper. "New Orleans is below sea level, so floods can happen kind of easily. Luckily, I live on the top floor.'

Kaoru was surprised, but took the hint that other residents were sleeping and didn't say anything more after stepping through the front door. The first thing he noticed in the dark foyer was the strange smell of old wood, mold, and whatever someone had been cooking in the kitchen earlier that day. The second thing was the way his foot seemed to sink a little into the worn carpet with each step, accompanied by loud squeaking from the ancient floor boards underneath.

"Here, let me take Demon Dog. I'll go put him downstairs where my dog sleeps."

Kaoru handed Matt the leash, and tried to peer into the darkness around him. The walls were an odd, bright red color, and he could see the outlines of various picture frames covering them. It was hard to make the pictures out, though. In an adjoining room, there was an old antique chair with books scattered all around. Kaoru guessed it was a study/library of sorts. A strange table with handles lining either side in the middle of the room caught his attention. It seemed to be full of horizontal, metal bars, with wooden figurines lining them. Kaoru slowly turned one of the handles, and watched the little men in the corresponding row flip in circles.

'Very strange…' he mused.

"Oh, hey, you play Foosball?" Matt asked, having returned from the basement. Kaoru quickly stepped away from the table, shaking his head. "Oh, well. Come on, let me take you upstairs."

Kaoru followed Matt up a narrow flight of steps and he let them through a rickety wooden door at the top with an old brass key. He pushed open the door and shuffled through with the bags. "Alright, this is it!" his voice was louder now that they were behind a closed door. "It's not much, but, ya know. It's got everything you need."

Kaoru looked around in amazement at the golden colored room with beaded lamps and illustrated, Mardi Gras posters with local bar logos scattered about. An old record player stood next to sliding glass doors, which led to a small balcony overlooking the backyard. There was a strange, flat looking couch along the side of the wall with a little stand next to it, and a small bathroom opposite. Kaoru guessed the other door he saw led to the actual bedroom and on the other wall there was a small closet and a very old looking upright piano. The décor was haphazard, and the room small, but it was all rather cozy in a way. His host was already adjusting the couch so that it lay flat like a bed.

"Yay, futons!" he cheered, and grabbed some folded up, flowery bed sheets sitting on the floor. "Borrowed these from my girlfriend's mom's house," he spoke absent mindedly as he spread out the bottom sheet. "I know they're kind of fugly looking, but beggars can't be choosers, right?"

Kaoru caught the other side of the top sheet and helped put it on. He tried to stifle a laugh at the icky green coloring and course, synthetic feel. His mother would die before she let sheets like this into their house back home. "They are perfect, thanks!" he smiled.

"Oh, pillow!" Matt raced into the other room and returned with a pillow stuffed with goose feathers. "Here, this is a good one." He threw it to Kaoru on the other side of the bed, and then opened the sliding door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've been dying for a smoke since we left the airport."

"Ah!" Kaoru pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and held them up. He knew how seriously they took underage smoking in America, but he guessed someone like Matt wouldn't mind.

"Oh, a smoker, huh? I knew I liked you!" Matt bowed towards the door. Out on the balcony, Kaoru could hear only the noise of crickets chirping and a few cars speeding past the main highway in the distance. Looking over the railing, he could see Demon Dog and his new canine friend carrying on in the small fenced in yard below. The damp, quiet surroundings reminded him of the night he'd spent outside by the park after the accident, but somehow the thought didn't seem unpleasant.

"It is very peaceful here." he commented, gazing off into the distance.

Matt exhaled a stream of spoke and scratched at the tag on the back of his plain black T-shirt. "I guess that's a way of putting it. I always kind of liked it; can't really imagine living anywhere else. My brothers always couldn't wait to get out of here."

"Why?" Kaoru asked.

"They said this area was too depressed. And they're right, I suppose, but I don't know. I guess I just see more in it than that."

Kaoru looked at him curiously, as Matt dropped his cigarette butt in an empty beer can. He did likewise, and followed him back inside.

"Get to bed, now. You look like you're about to pass out. We'll talk more in the morning." The dark circles under his eyes were evident. Kaoru smiled gratefully, not knowing Matt well enough to realize just how out of character and paternal he was being. He yawned as he opened the door to his bedroom. "G'night!"

"Good night. Thanks for everything."

Kaoru clicked off the small table lamp, and curled up under the unfamiliar sheets like a cat. 'This _is_ a nice pillow,' he thought drowsily, and he hugged it tightly, quickly drifting into a deep sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Kaoru awoke the same morning, much later than usual. He eyed his surroundings with confusion, not remembering at the moment exactly where he was. His arms stretched out reflexively for his brother, but he felt nothing except the hard, lumpy futon.

'Oh…' it all suddenly came back to him. He was in New Orleans now. He sat up with a stretch, smelling the already hot and humid air. He had slept dreamlessly, but it felt like he hadn't slept at all. After rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Kaoru groggily rolled out of the futon and began trying to figure out how to turn it back into a couch. Twenty minutes went by, and he thought he finally had it right. After that, he decided to help himself to the incredibly small shower/bathtub combo. Maybe it was his imagination, but the water almost seemed like it had a yellowish tint. Of course, it could have been the yellow glow of the old, bare ceiling light hanging above his head. He curiously ran his fingers over the decorative tiles lining the wall. They were old and chipped, but everything was clean. He quickly dried off and dressed, frowning at the large scars that served as a constant reminder to his ordeal from a few weeks ago. He'd given up wearing shorts, as there was a particularly evil scar across his knee where they had operated. Upon exiting the bathroom, there was still no sign of his host. Kaoru looked at the clock on the wall; 10:30. His stomach growled, as he was used to eating long before the current time.

He folded the sheets from his bed in the corner and put his ear against Matt's bedroom door. It was greeted with the sounds of snoring. Kaoru looked around and knocked. He was hungry, after all! Besides, no one could possibly need to sleep this late; even the Shadow King would have been up by now! The snoring stopped momentarily at his knock, but then continued. Kaoru folded his arms, wondering what he should do. The obvious answer was, of course, to knock again.

"ugh…wha-?...Yes?" a groggy voice emanated from behind the closed door.

"Oi, Matt-senpai! Breakfast?" Kaoru's voice was pretty hopeful at the prospect.

"Ooooh," Matt groaned, and Kaoru could hear shuffling towards the door. He took a step back as it cracked opened. "Hey, guy…" he yawned sleepily in nothing but boxers. "You're up bright and early, aren't you?"

'_What? Early??_' Kaoru looked at him in utter confusion, all the while trying not to stare at Matt's body hair. He'd never seen someone with so much of it, except in foreign movies. With the blank stare he was receiving, Matt chuckled, opening the door all the way. He started tripping sleepily towards the bathroom.

"Right, I should have guessed you'd be an early riser. Let me grab a shower real quick, and we'll go grab some grub."

Kaoru didn't reply, quickly trying to translate whatever the hell Matt had just said. It sounded like what he wanted to hear, and he smiled widely. Matt just laughed again.

"Eh, sorry, I'll try to speak better English. Hey!" his face suddenly lit up. "You have to teach me some Japanese while you're here, yeah?"

"Uh, okay!" Kaoru agreed, really only thinking about food. When he heard the shower start, he decided to make good use of his time and found his cell phone. He grimaced when he saw three missed calls from Hikaru already.

'Ah, here we go…' he thought as he dialed the number.

"KAORU!" Kaoru winced as he held the phone from his ear. "What the hell?! I've tried calling you-,"

"**Three times already**," they both spoke in unison. "Yeah," Kaoru opened the door to the back porch quietly closing it behind him, "I know. Sorry, guess I overslept," he lit a cigarette as he spoke.

"I slept horribly last night, how about you?" Hikaru's voice had calmed.

"Me too. Hey, want to see a picture of where I'm staying?"

"Sure!"

Kaoru snapped a picture on his mobile phone of the living room and sent it.

"Whoa! That's pretty awful, Kaoru! That's worse than where Haruhi lives!"

"I know!" Kaoru's voice was gleeful. "It's fantastic! I totally slept on a hard, lumpy futon, and it was just nightmarish! Just don't show Mom or Dad, they think I'm staying with a respectable foster family."

"Yeah, yeah. Exactly who are you living with again?"

Kaoru told him all he had learned so far about his host, which wasn't much. Hikaru let out an exasperated sigh. "This guy sounds like a real winner," he muttered.

"He's really cool, though!" Kaoru gushed. "He laughs a lot, anyway, and doesn't seem to take anything too seriously. I'm going to buy some new clothes today at some place called…well, I don't remember. I guess it's a shopping center."

"Well, Haruhi and all the others say hi," Hikaru's voice sounded less than thrilled. He had secretly been hoping something would not work out so that Kaoru would have to come back home, but that seemed to not be the case. "Have fun torturing yourself."

"Ok…" Kaoru rolled his eyes at his brother's sudden melancholy tone. He smiled reassuringly, even though he knew Hikaru couldn't see it. "Hikaru, I'll call you every day, I promise. Alright? And I'll send you pictures!"

"Whatever…" Hikaru grumbled. There was silence on the line, and Kaoru began to think his brother had hung up on him. Right as he was about to end the phone call, he heard Hikaru's voice again. "Just…be careful, okay?"

"Of course I will," Kaoru said gently.

"And don't forget about your weekly checkups. Every Monday, you make sure this Matt guy drives you. Maybe I should tell him-"

"I got it, I got it!" Kaoru quickly cut him off. "In fact, I've already told him all about it, so don't worry so much. Besides, he probably wouldn't understand you too well. He only speaks English, remember? I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye."

Kaoru sighed as he tucked his phone back in his pocket. He wondered what Hikaru would think if he knew that Kaoru hadn't exactly told Matt he had a twin brother. He also wondered why he was so reluctant to divulge that information, but quickly pushed those thoughts from his head. He dropped his cigarette in the beer can and turned to go inside, bumping into Matt in the door way. Kaoru jumped back in surprise and was quick to apologize. He hadn't even heard Matt open the door!! How long was he standing there?

"Hey, no problem! Just stepping out for a smoke, and then we'll leave for the day. Sound good?"

"Yes! So, uh, we're eating breakfast out?"

Matt blew a stream of smoke above Kaoru's head. "Yeah, thought I'd give you a little taste of the local cuisine. See what you think." Kaoru nodded enthusiastically. "So, who was that on the phone? Girlfriend?" Matt gave a sly smile. "That look on your face while you were talking, it seemed like someone important."

Kaoru laughed nervously, feeling his face flush a little. He shook his head. "No, no, I don't have a girlfriend. I have a friend who is a girl, but not a girl friend."

"Oh, lucky you then." Matt sighed, looking up. "I sure got one, and she's something else. But you know, she puts up with me, so I guess I'm pretty lucky too. We might see her today, she works at the mall. Come on, let's go."

He slapped Kaoru on the back and they both went downstairs. An older woman in an even older fashioned bathrobe was groggily stirring a pot on the stove. Matt put his fingers to his lips and quietly tiptoed up from behind, and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped straight up in the air with a yelp. "God damn you, you little sh-!"

"Morning, Wendy!" Matt said cheerily. "Come meet my new roommate for the year!"

Wendy stared blankly in Kaoru's direction. Kaoru glanced around nervously before finally approaching her with his hand extended. "Hi, I'm Kaoru, it's nice to meet you."

"Ooooh!" Wendy grabbed him in a big hug. "Come here, sweetness, aren't you just the cutest little thing," Wendy spoke in a slightly raspy, expressionless tone he would soon learn was quite typical of the older generation in the area. It didn't seem insincere, though. "Welcome to my house!"

"Your house?" Kaoru asked.

"Yes, this is my old house, and I just let this bum stay here," she nodded in Matt's direction. "I'm gonna make something special for you guys tonight, so save room for dinner, alright darlin'?" She pinched Kaoru's cheeks until Matt finally slapped her hands playfully away.

"Alright, you old biddy, we're out of here."

"By, now, honey!" she called after them. Matt smiled politely, quickly shoving Kaoru out the front door.

"Heh, sorry about that. She's just the friendly type."

They drove a short distance to an outdoor café. Along the way, Kaoru was very quiet, trying to take in all of his surroundings. He noticed a large canal running right along the street, as well as the different looking trees with long gray moss hanging from their limbs. He'd never really seen moss like that before. Poking around the reeds on the side of the road was a pretty, long necked bird. Kaoru's eyes widened.

"OH! What is that?!" he pointed suddenly.

"That? It's an Egret. They live pretty much anywhere swampy."

"E-gret…" Kaoru repeated, trying to take a picture on his phone, but they drove by too fast. Matt laughed at Kaoru's disappointed look.

"Jeez, you sure do like taking pictures of everything! Don't worry there, guy. You'll see more."

At the café, Kaoru was introduced to something called beignets, which seemed to be fried dough. Whatever it was, Kaoru quickly devoured the plate set before them. Matt stared at him wide-eyed, slowly dipping the one beignet he had snagged in his coffee. "Ok, guess you were really hungry, huh? I know just the thing." He flagged down the server, and whispered something in his ear that Kaoru didn't quite understand. The server glanced at Kaoru and grinned. Kaoru suddenly noticed that a lot of people seemed to be looking at him and smiling in a curious sort of way. It made him kind of nervous. He decided to take a picture of the waiter next to Matt, just to keep himself busy.

"Ah, no, don't take my picture, man!" Matt groaned as the server left.

"Why?"

"Cause I look like crap, that's why!" he stroked his unshaven stubble. "Your friends are gonna think I'm like a cave man or something!"

Kaoru just laughed. "You are, kind of."

"Ouch! So, you're not so sweet and quiet as I thought, huh?" Matt looked at him through squinted eyes, but he was grinning. The server had placed a plate of some strange, wonderful smelling concoction known as Eggs Sardou in front of Kaoru, which he also quickly devoured, but then placed his fork and knife neatly on the plate and bowed his head.

"Thanks for the meal."

"Oh good, that filled you up. Who would have thought a little skinny guy like you could eat so much. I was beginning to think you were gonna break my bank!" Matt sighed with relief as he handed some cash to the server. "Keep the change, there buddy." Kaoru noticed how happy the server looked, and took note that it was good to tip in America. "Come on, Kaoru, let's hit the mall."

Matt put on a happy face, as he let Kaoru drag him around from shop to shop. Now what did this nit-picky shopping remind him of? Oh yeah, Rachel. He glanced back to Kaoru, who was busy holding up a collared shirt to himself, then him, then back and forth, in front of an angled mirror. The shirt was far more expensive than anything Matt ever wore, and he finally ruffled Kaoru's hair with a sigh. "Dude, if you're trying to look like me, I dress cheap, so just get what you like, okay?"

"Ah!" Kaoru acknowledged. He looked put out, though. Matt bit his lip, and looked around for a sales assistant.

"Hey there guy!" he said cheerily to a snobbish looking man folding shirts in the corner. The man wrinkled his nose a bit at Matt's scruffy appearance, but responded politely.

"Yes?"

"My friend here needs help. Could you find some things for him to try on?"

The man grimaced, but once catching sight of the attractive foreigner behind him, quickly agreed. He ushered Kaoru towards the dressing room, and proceeded to hand him piles of clothing over the dressing room door for the next half hour. Matt noticed every pair of shorts was quickly returned, even though he was wearing cargo shorts himself. He knocked on the door.

"Hey, Kaoru, I don't go clothes shopping that often, but you might need shorts. It gets pretty hot around here, you know?"

"No shorts!" was the curt reply. Matt and the sales associate traded glances.

"Well, you hear the man, no shorts!" he reiterated. His cell phone rang and he wandered outside to the main level.

After trying on half the store, Kaoru was finally satisfied with his clothing selections. On the way to the register, he kept throwing accessories on top of the mound the sales associate was already carrying; ties, sunglasses, caps, flip flops. The associate was thrilled as he swiped the credit card. He'd made his sales quota two times over with just one customer! It all took an eternity to bag, and Kaoru could barely walk with all of it in hand. Matt walked back into the store, quickly relieving him of some of the burden.

"Ok, I don't think you'll have to wear the same thing for a year, now. Let's go put these in the car, and then I'll take you to meet the girl."

"The girl?"

"Yup, but don't call her that when you meet her."

A few minutes later, Kaoru was staring at a slender, stormy eyed girl with long dark brown hair pulled up in a clip, dressed in a rather plain, powder blue jacket and short skirt with a name tag that read "RACHEL" in pretty script letters. Kaoru was utterly confused at her professional appearance, given Matt's rather messy style. They really looked like they had no business being together as they stood next to one another. Kaoru, for his part, felt her gaze to be rather cold and calculating at first, as if she were sizing him up for a fight. But her eyes quickly softened after reaching a decision of sorts.

"Oh, wow!" she blurted out.

Matt looked at her with a frown. "What?"

"Well, I just didn't expect him to be this good looking! How old are you again?"

"HEY!" Matt barked. "Settle down, there, missy! You already have a boy toy!"

"Hmph, I've been thinking about trading up!" she sniffed. Matt pouted, and she ignored it. "Hi, I'm Rachel. You're Kaoru, right? What the hell are you living with this idiot for?"

"I wanted to live somewhere else for a while."

"Oh really? What are you running from?"

"Whoa now!" Matt cut in. "We're suddenly getting a little hot and heavy here!"

Kaoru smiled coyly as he answered her. Women were something he was used to dealing with. "I hope to know by the time I leave." She was trying to desperately hide it, but he could see the stars in her eyes.

"Oh, aren't you a little devil?" her voice was flirtatious as she narrowed her eyes.

Matt wasn't really liking this development at all. He turned to Kaoru, befuddled. "What the hell, man!? You've barely said two words since I picked you up!" he emphasized with his fingers, "What's with this sexy act?!"

Kaoru reverted back to his shyer self. "Oh, sorry Matt-senpai," he turned to Rachel. "It is really nice to meet you."

"MATT-SENPAI!!" Rachel squealed as she took Kaoru's hands in hers. "That's the most ridiculously adorable thing I've ever heard!" Kaoru was quickly learning that women here really had no qualms about touching him, even though he hardly knew them. He hoped he wasn't blushing. "Look at your red hair! Matt, why couldn't you have been a red head?! Then our kids would have looked like this!"

"Hey, whoa, whoa, slow down, girly," Matt grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from Kaoru. "Let the guy breathe a little."

They spent the next hour with Rachel, on break from the department store she worked in. Kaoru learned that she was an assistant manager, as well as a senior in college, studying to be an accountant.

"That is really admirable!" Kaoru smiled at her. "Working while you are in school must be very difficult."

"Yeah, I never get to see her," Matt frowned. "That's why you're here! You can be my new play thing!"

"You shush!" Rachel slapped the back of his head. "He meant difficult for _me_, not you, bum!"

Kaoru laughed. Everyone was so relaxed, it was a great comfort. He slowly felt himself becoming less and less shy by the minute. He looked at Rachel for a moment as she tousled Matt's hair. Her face was really quite lovely. Her body, well, a little more curvy than most women he knew, but then again, she was American. Rachel and Matt suddenly noticed his intense gaze and stopped play fighting.

"Wh-what?" Rachel glanced around nervously, and looked down.

"Your hair, you should wear it down."

"Excuse me?"

"And blue is really not a good color for you at all. It drowns out your eyes. Lavender or green would be perfect!" Rachel and Matt both went slack-jawed, but Kaoru didn't seem to notice. "And that fit is all wrong for you. The skirt is good, but the jacket has no shape at all, it lacks structure."

The look on Rachel's face was bouncing back and forth between irritation and utter confusion. Matt was desperately trying to think of something to say. "Oh!" it suddenly dawned on him. "Your mom works in the fashion industry, right? See, sweetheart? He just can't help himself," he shot Kaoru a meaningful glance. Kaoru startled and look down.

"Oh, I am so sorry! It's just that, you are so beautiful, I thought-"

Rachel needed to hear no more. "You think I'm beautiful?!" she gasped. "Aren't I pretty hefty compared to what you're used to?"

"Hefty?" Kaoru wrinkled his eyebrows.

"Fat," Matt translated bluntly.

"Oh no!" Kaoru began rambling, "I mean, it is the shape, not your weight. You are definitely tall enough. Our models are just shaped differently. Have you ever thought about modeling?"

Rachel just gaped at him for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "Me? A model? Ok, stop teasing me, it's really not funny. But you're sweet all the same, and I appreciate the compliment."

Kaoru was confused by her answer, but decided to drop it. He mentally slapped himself for even bringing it up. It certainly wasn't something a normal high school student would talk about.

"In any case, I have to go back to work now. Don't get into too much trouble, okay?" She kissed Matt on the forehead, and waved to Kaoru. "I'll see you around, kiddo."

"Bye!" Kaoru turned to Matt, who was waving innocently to Rachel as she walked away. "What should we do now?"

Matt checked his watch. It was one thirty. "Well, it's after twelve, and it's my day off. That means we get our drink on!"

"What? We wear drinks?"

Matt laughed rather loudly. "You're too damn funny, kid."


	8. Chapter 8

Kaoru wasn't sure exactly what a Hurricane was, but he thought they were very tasty, as he started on his second one in a dark, small bar room. As it was a weekday, the place where Matt worked was practically deserted. So they sat at a high top table in a dark corner, near the pool table. Much to Kaoru's liking, he was allowed to smoke at will inside, and proceeded to do so without hesitation. Matt seemed to be nursing his drink a little more slowly, trying to hide an evil grin. Sure, he had questions, and after his new roommate had finished that second Hurricane, he was pretty sure he'd get some.

"I do not understand your language at all!" Kaoru practically yelled above the jazz music playing in the background, as he swung around in circles on his bar stool. The music was loud, but it wasn't _that_ loud.

"Oh, yeah?" Matt had to try really hard not to laugh. "Why?"

"Firstly," Kaoru held up his index finger for emphasis and leaned forward. "A lot of your words are the same, but they mean different things; for example, 'deer' and 'dear', 'flower' and 'flour'. That's really confusing!"

"Okay, sure, but I'm pretty certain you can ascertain the meaning from the context."

"Uhh, I do not understand what you said, but!" Kaoru held up a second finger, "Use of the word 'pretty'. How can you be 'pretty' anything?"

Matt rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ya know, I never thought about it, but you're right. It doesn't make sense, does it?"

"NO!"

Matt couldn't contain a chuckle. "Well, you get used to it. I'll help you out, of course. You'll learn all the colloquial terms in no time. Like, okay, I'll teach you something right now. Around here, we call what you're going to have tomorrow a 'wicked hangover' and you know why you'll have one?"

"Why?" Kaoru asked, still not sure what Matt was talking about.

"Because you obviously can't hold your liquor, and you guzzled that last Hurricane down like a Slush Puppie, or something."

"I'm not holding anything! Argh! What the hell is a slush puppie?! At this moment, I do not like your language!"

"Don't worry about it so much. Why don't we talk about something else, like why you're here," he saw Kaoru stiffen a little, but pretended not to see anything and continued on. "Why would a rich kid like you want to stay in a dump like this for a year? I mean, what you said to Rachel was that you wanted to live somewhere different, right?" Kaoru nodded, not looking up. Matt sighed, leaning back. His eyes narrowed. "So, let me see if I have this straight, you thought you'd live amongst the rats of the world for a while. I mean, what? Is this some weird little experiment for you? Were you that bored back home?"

"Ie- no!" Kaoru suddenly seemed frantically sincere. He had never heard Matt use this tone of voice, and it seemed irritated. "No! I think New Orleans is amazing! I think you are amazing too! You seem so wise and well-read! I thought that, if I were to live away from home, it should be here."

"Yeah, well, I read a lot, that's about it," Matt glanced away for a moment, secretly very flattered. "Why here, though? Seems like you would have been more at home in New York."

Kaoru now glanced away. "Um, yes, New York…"

"Not far enough, huh?"

"No."

"What's eating you, Kaoru?" at the confused glance he received, Matt shook his head. "What's bothering you so much, that you would come all the way down here?"

Kaoru sighed. He hadn't expected Matt to be so interested in his business so early on. But he should have expected it. Matt seemed like the inquisitive type.

"Back home," Kaoru started slowly, trying to choose words carefully, "I feel like I am someone I cannot escape from. I try to do what people expect me to do all the time, but I have changed. I am not the person my friends know anymore, and without leaving, I do not know how to tell them." Kaoru paused to let his words sink in. Had that come out kind of right?

Matt's eyebrows were furrowed, but then shot up in revelation. "Oh! I get it now!"

"Yeah!?" Kaoru's face lit up. That was easier than he thought.

"You're gay, and you can't tell anyone!"

"W-what?"

"Ah, dude, you don't have to worry about saying it to me! I know lots of gay people! And I understand how much someone in your position in life would be shunned if people knew. That's why you ran away!!"

"W-wait, that is not exactly what-," but it was too late, Matt was on a role.

"Oh what a tragic tale!! You couldn't summon the courage to come out to your family and friends, so you ran away to America to be free! Ah, it's so touching, I think I might cry! But wait a second…" Matt's face became serious again. "You know I'm not gay, right? So, you're kind of wasting your time if you think-"

"Shut up!!" Kaoru finally yelled. This startled Matt out of his train of thought, and he sat back without another word as a now agitated Kaoru rambled in his native tongue for a few seconds. "Damn it, I'm not sure why I am here, I just needed to get away from my family and friends for a while! I need to figure out who I am, and not just keep projecting that weak, sniveling creature they all think I am! And I need to get away from HIM!" the words burst out of him without thought. Matt was just staring at him. Finally, with a deep breath, Kaoru returned to English. "I am not a homosexual. It is complicated."

His tone was so calm and matter of fact, Matt burst out laughing. "Oh really, now? Man, I'd like to know what you were just yammering on about before! But whatever! You're here now, and you'll learn to blab in English soon enough!" but his mirth was soon cut short.

"What the fuck you doin' here, eh?" both Kaoru and Matt froze at the gruff, deep voice suddenly behind them.

"Ah, hah! God dammit, Sherrod!" Matt seemed to be a little more on edge as he spoke to the large, muscular, black man staring at him critically. Kaoru looked up and tried not to cower at the ominous looking figure dressed in, what used to be white, chef clothes and hat before him. "You scared the hell out of me, man!"

"Employees aren't supposed to loiter here on their days off, Matt," Sherrod's voice was overly ominous. Kaoru shrank back in his stool a little. "And how old is this kid?" he jerked a thumb in Kaoru's direction. "You bringing minors into my bar, son? What would your momma say about that? Didn't she teach you any better?"

"Heh, no!" Matt grinned. "I was her drinking buddy before she ran off, remember?"

"Ah, yeah…" Sherrod nodded, as if remembering something fondly. "Damn, I miss your mom. When's she commin' back this time?"

"Okay, for one, back off my mom there, guy. That is, unless you're ready to finally admit that you're my papa!"

Sherrod backed away with his arms up in a defense. "Heeellll no, son!"

"Oh, come on, PAPA!" Matt leapt from his chair onto Sherrod's back as he tried to make a hasty retreat. "You know it's true, you just can't ignore the striking similarities between us! Now, how about you let me borrow twenty bucks, dad?!"

"Get off me, you crazy cracker! I gave your punk ass a job, and that's all you're gonna' get from me!" Sherrod wheezed through Matt's neck hold before finally getting a good grip on Matt's arm and almost throwing him across the floor. He straightened out his hat and apron, and cleared his throat. "You should count yourself lucky. If it'd been anybody else bringing a little kid in here, I would have fired their ass on the spot!"

"Ah, I was the only one drinking! Isn't that right, Kaoru?" Matt crossed his legs on the floor where he had landed.

"Y-yes!" Kaoru nodded, frantically pushing the Hurricane glass as far away from himself as possible.

"In fact, this little turkey's living with me for the year and he needs a job. And you know, the bus boy walked out on us the other day. So, how about it?"

Sherrod stared at Kaoru for a moment before cracking up. "Matt, you're just crazy, son! Look at him! He won't last a week here! Too soft! Looks like he hasn't worked a day in his life!"

Kaoru objected strongly. "I have worked ONE day in my life!" he cried vehemently, slamming his palms on the table. Matt and Sherrod both looked at him in amazement.

"_One day!?_" they both echoed with disbelief.

"Yes!"

"Oh, yeah? Where?" Sherrod queried, his teeth flashing in a grin of suppressed mirth. Matt was busy just gaping at the absurdity.

"At an inn, in Karuizawa!"

Sherrod snorted. "And what did you do for this one day, at an inn, in Karuizawa?"

"Uuuh, well, there was a contest, between my friends and I" Kaoru tried to think of a way to explain it without sounding totally insane. "To see who could be the best…employee. And we won!"

"Whose 'we'?" Matt asked.

Kaoru cupped a hand over his mouth. "I mean, I won."

"So, you were employed at an Inn for a day, in a contest to win…what?"

"A room. They only had one left, and we all wanted to stay there."

Sherrod's right eyebrow shot high into the air. Matt himself was baffled at what the kid was talking about, but put on a bright smile.

"Ah, you see, Sherrod!? He won, 'cause he's competitive and a good worker just naturally. I'll bet if you gave him a chance, he'd be great here!"

Sherrod was silent for a moment, but then threw his hands up in the air with resignation. "God damn, you're a crazy kid!" he pointed at Matt, still sitting on the floor. "And you!!" he directed his attention to Kaoru, who suddenly sat up straight as a board, "You'd better not turn out like the last rich-snot brat I hired! And if I ever catch you in here drinking again, you're both fired! Got it?!"

"YES SIR!!" Kaoru and Matt both rose to their feet in attention.

"Now get the fuck out of my bar! Crazy-assed, white kids, come in here-" Sherrod muttered to himself as he disappeared in the back again. Matt let out a whoop and gave Kaoru a high-five. Kaoru winced and gave his arm a little shake after, but Matt was too happy/tipsy to notice.

"Well!" he crowed as they took to the hot, summer streets again, "That was easier than I thought it would be!"

"Is that why we came here today? So I could get a job?" Kaoru's eyes were wide with admiration.

"Of course not, but the thought crossed my mind at the moment, and I thought, why the hell not go for it. You need a job, right?"

"Yes, I did not know where I should work, but I'm happy I'll be working with you!"

"Ah, look at you, all using contractions!" Matt ruffled Kaoru's hair. Kaoru blushed a little at the open affection and smiled. That night, Wendy had stuffed artichokes and crawfish Étoufée ready for them when they got home. Kaoru loved it all.

The days slowly began to blend into each other, and Kaoru barely noticed the diminishing heat as fall approached. Slowly, he adjusted more and more to Matt and his world's schedule, as he followed him to work each day at the bar. At first, Kaoru thought gathering and washing dishes, and cleaning the tables, chairs, and floors would be easy, but soon discovered it could be grueling, not to mention filthy, work at times. And drunk people seemed to swing both ways. They could be pleasant, or very, very unpleasant, and Kaoru had witnessed Sherrod unceremoniously tossing out a few customers who crossed the line onto the street. But he soon fell into a rhythm of sorts, and Matt had a way of making really droll things always seem fun. Sometimes if Kaoru was finished with all of his work, he would sit at the bar and let Matt practice bartending tricks with him. As he was relatively new himself, a lot of these tricks ended in disaster, broken glass, and Sherrod yelling, but it was fun nevertheless.

Their time off was mostly spent either with Matt's girlfriend, sight seeing, or just goofing off in general. Kaoru often went on long walks on their days off around the water in City Park near Matt's home. At first, it was a necessity, as Matt would sometimes boot him quite unceremoniously out the house if Rachel came to 'visit'. Later on, he came to find the solitude refreshing, and would sometimes sit on the steps of the mausoleum near the lion statutes guarding the banks and read or draw, while Demon Dog had an absolute blast swimming around the pond, chasing the ducks. Often enough, Kaoru found himself just staring across the dark water and sprawling oak branches laden with Spanish moss, ignoring the many comments on just how ugly his dog was.

As promised, every Monday Matt drove him to a private doctor in a more upscale location of the city, and every Monday, Matt griped about having to get out of bed early after working Sunday.

"Damn, do all Japanese people go to the doctor every week?" Matt whined, practically slumping over his steering wheel in traffic. "I mean, are you sick or something?"

"No, just a check up." Kaoru sighed, looking out the window. "I'm sorry, I promised. I wouldn't go, otherwise."

"Oh, jeez, you don't have cancer, do you?!" Matt suddenly became alarmed. "You're not slowly dying or something, right? This isn't like, 'I came to America to die' is it? I don't know if I could handle that, man!"

Kaoru laughed loudly, something that was becoming more and more habitual. "Stop turning everything into one of your drama novels!" he sniffed, lighting a cigarette. "You're one of the biggest drama queens I ever met!"

"Not _the_ biggest!?" Matt gasped in fake surprise. Kaoru felt a twinge of nostalgia as he thought about Tamaki.

"Not quite."

Whenever Kaoru thought of his friends back home, he felt a creeping sensation of guilt. It was enough to even temp him to avoid his brother's daily phone calls. Soon, however, Hikaru settled a bit and would only call every other day, and that made it all the easier to forget. Besides, Kaoru's school would be starting soon, and then he would have even less time to feel guilty. But even so, there was an unavoidable sadness that crept into his face whenever he thought of his brother. Rachel caught him drifting off one day while he absent mindedly scratched Demon Dog's ear, his other hand limply holding his leash. They were sitting on an outside patio at a local pizzeria in Mid City. Matt had run off, already late for work, but Kaoru wasn't scheduled that day, and was using the afternoon to purchase school supplies.

"Hey, Kaoru," Rachel called softly, stirring the ice in her cup with her straw. "Who are you thinking about?"

"What? Oh, nobody! Sorry!"

"Don't apologize!" Rachel laughed. "I know you must have left behind a girlfriend or something! You're too cute to be single!"

"No, no girlfriends."

"Oh, I see. Boyfriend?" Exasperation was written all over Kaoru's face, and Rachel quickly rebounded. "Wait, ok, not a boyfriend! Well, who then?"

Kaoru sighed. Rachel and Matt were always asking him so many questions about this sort of thing. Well, perhaps he had established his own person enough to warrant mentioning Hikaru by now.

"I was thinking about my brother. He really didn't want me to come here, but I came anyway."

"I see. Are you two really close?"

'Understatement of the year,' Kaoru thought to himself. "I guess you could say that."

"Well, I understand. I would be really sad if my younger sister moved away. I just think the world of her, and I would worry if I weren't around to watch over her."

"But, if she moved away and was happy, you wouldn't mind so much?"

"Are you happy, Kaoru?"

Kaoru looked away for a moment. "I think so. I miss my family and friends, but I don't want to go back."

"Well, as they say, for everything there is a season. Don't worry about it so much. I'm sure your brother understands. He's older than you, right?"

"Yeah."

Rachel stretched her tanned arms over her head. Her oversized, plastic bracelets clanked together when she did. "So, Matt's kind of like a replacement big brother for you, then."

She gave a yawn and took another sip of her iced tea. Kaoru felt the most foreign, bitter anger suddenly rise within him, but he knew she had meant no harm in the comment. He quickly realized the anger he felt was directed toward himself more than anyone, and began to mull it over in his mind.

Was she right? Kaoru guessed it wasn't beyond him to include another big brother in a recreation of his new self, but a replacement? Was that what Matt was; a replacement for Hikaru? His heart was torn with the thought of the injustice to Hikaru, and the disgust toward himself for reimagining the same life he was trying to leave behind. In a moment of clarity, Kaoru realized just how grown up Hikaru was behaving towards the situation. After all, Hikaru's personality always leaned towards the jealous side. Kaoru knew this, and when he recalled Hikaru's tone of ever-growing distance over the phone, he began to question what, exactly, he was looking for. Kaoru suddenly felt the overwhelming need to hear Hikaru's voice. He tried to suppress it, but it only made the feeling surge even more.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back. _Stay_!" Kaoru held his palm up to Demon Dog, already on his feet.

Rachel blinked in confusion as Kaoru hastily ran to the parking lot and speed dialed Hikaru's number. He knew it would be the early hours of the morning there, but he hoped he would answer anyway.

Several rings went by, and Kaoru was about to hang up when he heard a small click.

"_Ugh_, What?" Hikaru's non traditional greeting was full of annoyance.

"Hikaru, it's me. Sorry to call so early."

"So early…like the middle of the night early…" Hikaru grumbled. "Wait, is something wrong? Are you alright, Kaoru?" his tone had immediately changed to one of concern.

Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief. "No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to hear you."

Hikaru didn't respond right away and the sound of sheets shuffling emanated from the phone. "Well, now you heard me. Sounds like you miss me or something."

"Of course I miss you."

"Then come home."

"I can't. Not yet."

"Well!" Hikaru's voice began to take on the haughtiness all too familiar to Kaoru. "Don't feel uneasy about me! I'm doing just fine!"

Kaoru winced a little inside. "Sorry for waking you up. I'll call back later."

"Kaoru, wait-!"

Pretending not to hear him, Kaoru snapped his phone shut. He knew this separation was going to hurt sometimes. Still, even though he had wanted to leave more than anything, he was surprised to find just how much it could hurt.

Rachel took one look at his face as he slumped back into his chair and cooed.

"Awww, you look so sad!" She leaned over and hugged his head to her chest. "There, there! You want some ice cream?"

Kaoru rolled his eyes as she did this, but couldn't suppress a smile. Having his face right next to an attractive girl's bosom did make him feel better. But before the feeling of comfort could turn into something else, he pushed away from her.

"Enough, enough! Let's go shopping!"

"Music to a girl's ears!" Rachel handed the black book with cash to the server, and they left.

"So, where do people buy school supplies around here?" Kaoru asked, after he'd finished putting Demon Dog back into the yard.

"Well, I guess Wal-mart."

"What's that?"

**

Kaoru stood at the entrance to the Wal-mart supercenter in a daze. "What the hell is this?!" he demanded. Rachel laughed.

"This is where you go to buy EVERYTHING if you're an American."

"All in one place?!"

"Yep!" Rachel said as she grabbed a basket. "So, school supplies…oh, there over there, come on!"

She started towards the seasonal isle and Kaoru trailed after her, still mystified. What should have been a quick trip turned into a two hour ordeal, as Kaoru insisted on perusing not only the school isle, but pretty much every isle in the store. For her part, Rachel was getting a kick out of Kaoru's enthusiasm over such a mundane place; and being seen with such a cute boy certainly didn't hurt either. They were currently in the home décor isle. Kaoru grabbed a lap desk and started towards electronics. Here was a place he didn't feel lost at all. He gazed at the Sony televisions for a moment, before grabbing a flat screen and trying to finagle it into the cart.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Rachel quickly went to help him load it into the basket. "Are you really just buying a flat screen T.V.? Just like that?!"

"Matt-senpai doesn't have one."

"He doesn't even have a place to put it!!"

Kaoru thought about this for a moment, and then ran back to the furniture isle. He quickly returned with an entertainment cart. "Look at this! It has a slot for your video games! I love video games!"

"Matt doesn't have games!"

Kaoru looked to his left, and tossed an X-box 360 into the cart. "He does now." Rachel just gaped at him.

"Are you totally insane!? You can't just buy stuff like this on a whim!"

"Why not?"

"Be-because! Expensive stuff needs to be carefully thought about! I mean, if you're going to spend so much money, you should be sure about it, right?"

"So much money…" Kaoru repeated thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "I think I know what you mean… It's like haggling, except in your mind. So I need to stand here for ten minutes, trying to talk myself out of buying this stuff, before I just buy it anyway?"

Rachel blinked at him for a moment. "Um, well, no. I suppose not. God damn, I've never met such a secure shopper before! I mean, I've watched people agonize over a thirty dollar toaster at my job! Just how rich is your family!?"

"Hey, this is my money!" Kaoru said defensively as he scanned the games behind the locked, glass panel. "I worked for it! Well, part of it anyway. So, I should decide how to spend it! How do I open this?"

Rachel gave up at that point, and flagged down an employee. "Could you open this for us, please?"

The man stared wide eyed at their full shopping cart, and then back at them. Rachel knew what he was thinking; they looked way too poor to be buying all this stuff. Kaoru didn't even notice. Then man seemed to be weighing the consequences of stolen goods to him, and then shrugged as he unlocked the door. General apathy won again that day. Kaoru started plucking games like cherries from a tree, and then continued on.

"You know what would look really good in the living room? A rug!"

"Oh, dear god, you are one crazy, little, Japanese boy!" Rachel sighed.

Matt returned home that night to find the living room in his small apartment entirely redecorated, along with a very exhausted Rachel, slumped over in a new computer chair. Upon his entry, she sprang up in a panic.

"Matt! Thank god! You have to talk some sense into him!" she pointed frantically to Kaoru, who was busy plugging wires into the back of the new T.V.. "He was like a mad man! Look at this!!" she produced an extremely long receipt from the back pocket of her jeans. "Fifteen hundred dollars, Matthew!! FIFTEEN!!!"

Matt looked around in utter amazement for a few seconds, not saying anything, before his eyes fixed on the X-box on the floor. "Oh, snap! Is that an X-box?!" He ran over to the entertainment center Kaoru was assembling.

"Oh, Matt-senpai! Welcome home." Kaoru called from behind the large screen.

Matt's eyes were sparkling like a kid in a candy store. "Kaoru, what the hell, man!? This is so boss!!" He immediately started sifting through the games. Rachel almost screeched.

"MATHEW!!"

"Oh, come on, Rachel?! What's the big deal? So he wanted some toys, so what?"

"He practically refurnished your entire apartment!"

"Well…" Matt looked around at the new chairs, rug and curtains. "Kind of an improvement, don't you think?"

"AAARGH!!" Rachel vigorously ran her hands through her hair and then heaved a long sigh. "I'm going home now."

Kaoru popped up as she slammed the door. They could hear her cursing all the way to the front porch. Matt chuckled.

"Oh, don't mind her. Guess the whole living frugally thing was getting a bit too much for you, huh?"

"It's really not a lot," Kaoru muttered, sliding the console onto the shelf. "I don't know why she's freaking out."

"Well, it is a lot for people like us, remember?" Matt tilted his head inquisitively when Kaoru wouldn't look him in the eye. He then closed his eyes with a smile. "You're upset. That's why you bought all this crap. Not that I don't love it. We could totally have some swingin' parties in here now!"

Kaoru just snorted and Matt retrieved two beers from the miniature fridge in his room, and went onto the porch. Kaoru looked away for a moment, then gave up and followed him.

"Kanpai," Matt said rather flatly, as he handed Kaoru a beer. He waited to speak more until Kaoru had lit a cigarette. "So, what happened?"

"Nothing much."

"Uh-huh…" Matt's tone was skeptical as he lit his own cigarette. "I'm just gonna put this out there, I've been way more patient than most Americans would be. You always walk around looking like you're anywhere but here, and sometimes you look like someone's just slapped you in the face or something!" Kaouru just looked the other way again and Matt sighed. "Ok, look here. You know, sometimes it helps just to talk things out. Consider it a challenge of sorts."

***

Kyoya sighed, as tallied the numbers for the previous week in the music room after all the customers had left. Tamaki leaned over his shoulder, staring at the screen with large eyes. Kyoya frowned with irritation, and shut his laptop cover.

"Hey, I want to see! I am president, after all!"

"No one likes someone reading over their shoulder."

"Oh. Well, how did we do?"

"The numbers have started to marginally decrease in the past two weeks," Kyoya fixed his glasses. "General consensus is that the customers were satisfied for a while with the whole, 'I miss my brother' act, but they really are best together as a team."

"I see…" Tamaki glanced at Hikaru packing his homework in his book sling with swift, almost agitated movements. "Hikaru does seem a little angry today. I wonder what Kaoru said to him."

"Who knows," Kyoya shrugged. "I'm expecting Hikaru to quit altogether at this rate."

Tamaki frowned and said nothing more until Haruhi approached them.

"Tamaki-senpai, Kyoya-senpai, I'm going home for the day."

"Oh, Haruhi!" Tamaki suddenly hugged her head tightly to his chest. "You'll never leave us, will you?!"

"Such an idiot," Kyoya sighed, opening his lap top again.

"Ow… Tamaki-senpai, you can let go now."

Tamaki relinquished her head, and she put a hand through her hair in a disgruntled way. "Is something wrong?"

"We were just going over the books," Kyoya explained. "Haruhi, have you talked to Kaoru at all this past month?"

"Well, sure, a couple of times, I guess. He seems to be doing alright, although I think it's hard for him to be away for so long."

"And it's hard on Hikaru too," Tamaki added. "He seems to be growing more and more distant from all of us. And he was making such progress too!"

"Well of course he's upset right now, it is a big change after all," Haruhi straightened the tie on her uniform as she spoke. "But I stand behind Kaoru's decision. Let's just all try to remember that this is temporary."

"Temporary, right…" Tamaki echoed. Hikaru left without saying anything to anyone, and the rest of the host club flinched when he slammed the door. Tamaki then turned back to Kyoya. "Hey, Mommy, you have the address where Kaoru's staying, right?"

"But of course, Daddy."

Haruhi now frowned. "What are you two plotting?"

"Oh, nothing of course!" Tamaki smiled. "I just think that maybe a little pick-me-up visit is in order sometime in the near future."

**

Mmmm-kay…Think I'm trying to write a novel or something here, so I'm just going to cut this chapter short. Stick around for what happens when New Orleans high school starts and Hikaru comes to visit!


	9. Chapter 9

_Ok, I know it's been longer than forever, like months. And I know Hikaru was supposed to show up in this chapter, but in order to keep the story going, I had to save that for the next chapter. Thanks to whoever reads this and enjoys it!~*_

***

Kaoru stood in the doorway of the rather small classroom, clenching his shoulder strap so tightly, his knuckles were white. Before he could completely psyche himself out, the school bell sounded, and Kaoru was swept inside the room on a wave of students hurrying to their desks. Students continued to pour in, trapping Kaoru against the blackboard. The smell of dust and chalk was almost overwhelming, and a thought occurred to him. He glanced over his shoulder and confirmed that there was, indeed, white powdery chalk dust all the back of his shirt. Kaoru sighed, trying to keep in mind what Matt had told him.

The morning of Kaoru's first day of school, Matt and Wendy had been colliding in the tiny kitchen.

"Matt, honey, move your tush away from the stove! What are you doing in my kitchen, anyway?!"

Matt was busy cracking egg after egg into a pan. "Hey, I got up early to make special 'first day of school' breakfast, so I claim kitchen!"

"You cook now, do you?" Wendy chuckled reaching around Matt to turn the knob for the burner under her teapot. Her elbow bumped Matt's arm, and an egg fell to the floor with a plop. "Oops, what a shame..."

"Geez! Think you could stop having seizures for like, I don't know, two seconds while I try to make these?!" He bent over to wipe the egg up with a napkin and upon rising, his head collided with the large frying pan Wendy was holding over him. "Ow! Jesus!"

"That's what you get for sassing!"

"You crazy old biddy!" _Smack _went the frying pan. "Ow!!"

"Impudent pup!"

Matt's response was to throw and egg on top her head, after which all out war ensued. Kaoru sat at the small dinette in the far corner, ignoring the clamor and drumming his fingers nervously. He really couldn't put his finger on why he was so uneasy.

"Ta-daaa!!" Matt slapped a plate overflowing with eggs and pancakes on the table, snapping Kaoru out of his pondering. "Dig in! Word of caution, I dropped an eggshell in there somewhere."

"Thanks!" Kaoru choked out, trying to hold back the laughter. Matt was completely covered with baking flour, eggs, and anything else Wendy was able to throw at him.

"No problem, Frankie! It's all about you, today!"

_'Argh..._Frankie_...' _That had become his new nickname ever since that night a week before. Matt had been trying to drag the story out of him over beers on the porch after Rachel had left, and he had been reluctant to give it. A little wiser now, Kaoru barely touched his beer and after one sip placed the glass bottle down on the railing with a decisive clank.

"Come on, why can't you tell me?! Never mind!" Matt looked up and away with his nose in the air. "I don't want to know anymore!"

"Good. Let's play video games, then."

"Argh!" Matt's head whipped around to see Kaoru already back inside, dangling a controller from his hand. Matt grinned as he slammed the porch door shut. "I'm gonna kick your butt, kid."

"We'll see, won't we?"

"You are one cocky little brat when you want to be," Matt growled, snatching the controller from Kaoru's hand and plopping down on the floor. "Alright! Tell me you got some shooters, none of that RPG crap!" Kaoru rolled his eyes and held up the box for (**a** **popular shooter that shall remain nameless ;p). **"Sweeet!!" Matt cooed.

Half an hour into it, and Kaoru had to admit that Matt was pretty good at this type of game. The score thus far was about twenty-five to zero, and Matt was thoroughly enjoying his victories. However, once Kaoru became familiar with the controls, and Matt had consumed two or three beers, the tide began to quickly turn.

"Oh, no, NO WAY!!" Matt yelled in frustration as Kaoru, yet again, trounced him from behind.

"You're not watching your radar, Matt-senpai," Kaoru said coolly.

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Matt barked back, but when he looked up, he had already lost again. "DAMMIT!"

Kaoru couldn't hold back a snicker. It was just too funny how worked up his roommate was getting over a video game. And the more angry he got, the worse he played. Kaoru found it all very hilarious. The next time he pounced on him yet again, Kaoru burst out laughing.

"Who's kicking whose butt now!?" he managed between chuckles.

"You little-!" Matt threw the controller and jumped on him, but Kaoru couldn't stop laughing. "I can still kick your butt in real life, and that's what counts!!"

Matt put him in a headlock, and Kaoru feebly fought back in his mirthful state. As such, Matt quickly wrestled him to the ground and pinned him face down. Kaoru wriggled back out of Matt's hold on his shoulders. He was having too good of a time to notice that his shirt was slowly creeping up during the struggle. All at once, Matt released his grip. Confused at the sudden relent, Kaoru stopped laughing and opened his eyes. Matt was staring at him, his mouth gaping in shock.

"Holy shit, Kaoru..." his voice was full of awe. "What happened to you?"

Kaoru quickly realized that his shirt was bunched up around his shoulders, almost completely exposing his torso and the scars he had hidden so well until then. Backing away, he stood up and straightened his clothes.

"Kaoru..."

"Oh, you know?" Kaoru mumbled as he backed into the door. "I just remembered that I forgot something at the store..." His hand quickly found the knob, and he fled down the stairs without another word.

"Hey, wait!" Matt ran down the steps to the front door and quickly scanned the streets, but Kaoru was nowhere in sight.

Kaoru ran until he was entirely out of breath. He stopped when he began to feel a little light-headed. Hunched over and panting, he looked across the water of the large canal that flowed through the city. With the city lights reflecting off of it, the water looked like a solid, black mass, as if one could walk on it. Kaoru carefully stepped across the marshy bank until he was at the water's edge. He gently dipped a finger into the water, half expecting to feel something denser.

'I wonder what it's like to swim in here?...'

Meaningless thoughts always arose when he was trying to distract himself. Kaoru spied a city rat slowly swimming past him. It's tiny, whiskered snout barely above the water, the rat seemed to motionlessly glide across the surface, though its legs must have been pumping furiously. He watched it go, and placed a hand over where the scar on his chest lay beneath his shirt. It was the last thing in the world he had wanted Matt to see. He wanted Matt to feel like they were on equal turf, that they were peers. Kaoru grimaced at what Matt was probably thinking now. Was his situation doomed to repeat itself?

'No...,' Kaoru closed his eyes with a smile, leaning against the thick carpet of grass. 'It's not circumstance...It's me...again. I'm the one who has to end it.'

With a new resolution, he rose to his feet and began walking quickly home. His pace slowed to a crawl, however, when he spotted three large figures approaching him from the direction he'd been heading. He could hear the rough looking men laughing and joking around, but they all fell silent once they caught sight of him. Kaoru walked left to the dark sidewalk lining a row of large houses, and stopped. He stood with his hands in his pockets, watching them as they drew nearer.

The fact that he wasn't quickly running in the other direction seemed to catch them off guard, but Kaoru didn't really think he could outrun all three of them, and he considered that if he were going to be mugged, better out in the open than in a dark alley somewhere.

'Terrific...,' was the only thought circling his mind when the three men stopped a few feet away, whispering amongst themselves. Kaoru couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but they seemed to be confused as to his appearance and reserved demeanor. A minute went by in this fashion, and Kaoru just started walking again. If they were just going to be dillydallies instead of getting on with it, so be it. He wasn't going to wait around all night, after all.

"H-hey! Boy!" the man's voice sounded almost indignant. "Stop right there."

Kaoru stopped and faced them again. "Can I help you, gentlemen?"

"Yeah, you can help us!" one of the other men piped up. "You can help us by giving up that watch you got."

Kaoru glanced down at his watch and sighed. He quickly slipped it off his slender wrist and tossed it to them, carelessly. One of the thugs jumped up and snatched it from the air, and they all awed for a moment at the expensive item. 'Damn...I liked that watch...'

"Okay, boy, now the wallet."

"I don't have it on me. Sorry."

The largest man, who seemed to be the ringleader, took a menacing step forward. "I'm not playing with you, kid." Something was clenched tightly in his right fist, but Kaoru couldn't see what it was.

Instead of speaking, Kaoru simply turned all of his pants pockets inside out, and looked back to the leader in an almost amused way. The man ground his teeth and narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm not liking your attitude, son," his voice sank to a dangerously low tone. "You don't seem to be aware of the situation here." He took another step forward and saw the small, silver necklace reflecting from Kaoru's neck. As if he could feel exactly where the man's eyes were, Kaoru suddenly clenched the small pendent Haruhi had given him. The man grinned a crooked smile. "Give it up."

"No," Kaoru's voice was now equally as serious. "It's not worth anything. You've got the watch, just leave me alone."

"Boy, you take off that necklace, or I'll take it off for you."

Kaoru didn't reply, but he spread his legs apart and leaned forward, with his hands at the ready, in a defensive stance. After all, Honey-senpai had taught him a few tricks during their time together, maybe it would be enough. This incited rage in the leader, and hearty laughter from his two companions.

"You can't be serious!" one of the lackeys crowed. They stopped their laughter when a sharp whipping sound pierced the air. There was a bright flash of a blade, and their faces paled.

"C'mon, Davy, don't be like that...He's just some retarded kid." the smallest of the three spoke with a calmer voice.

"Shut the fuck up!" Davy snapped. "And YOU!" he redirected his attention back to Kaoru, whose face had also drained of all it's color at the sight of the knife. "I'm gonna count to three, and then either that necklace is off, or your head is! ONE..."

Kaoru gulped, but felt strangely grounded to the spot. He was so completely terrified, that he could barely think of anything at all, except of not letting go of the little clover charm. He held it so tightly in his fist that he could feel sweat begin to drip down his arm.

"TWO..."

What was that thing that Honey-senpai was trying to show Hikaru and him that day? About self-defense? Was it right leg out or left? And did that work on knives, or just guns? And-

"THREE! That's it!"

The man lunged at him, but Kaoru was quick on his feet and sidestepped the knife. As he did so, Davy tripped on Kaoru's foot and went tumbling on the pavement. The two henchmen quickly went to help him up, but Kaoru didn't wait to see what happened.

'Oh, god! Oh, shit!' Kaoru took of running in the direction of home now that nothing barred his path. 'That's the last time I ever want to see a knife, much less one heading directly for my face!'

Kaoru thought maybe if he got enough of a head start, he could lose them. Or maybe they'd just give up all together. Much to his dismay, he heard the sound of running footsteps behind him not more than a few seconds later, and they sounded like they were gaining fast. The fact that Kaoru was already worn out and slowing down wasn't helping. He was so out of breath, he couldn't even yell. Inevitably, he felt a large hand grab his shoulder and wrench him backwards. With a small yelp, Kaoru crashed to the pavement. He was in so much shock, that he didn't even notice when the back of his head hit the ground. Everything was happening so fast, he could barely make out what was going on, but he felt a heavy weight on his chest, and a tight hold on his throat.

"You've just dug your own grave, boy." Kaoru felt the cold, sharp blade press under his chin and winced. The image of Hikaru flitted through his foggy mind just as it had the last time Kaoru faced death, and he smiled, feeling oddly peaceful.

"HEEEEEEEEEYYYYY!!!"

"BARK! BARK!"

A loud raucous familiar to Kaoru suddenly filled the street. All three of the thugs' heads snapped up in surprise at the voices just in time to see an extremely ugly dog leap on Davy's back with a snarl. The man let out a scream of shock and pain when the dog's teeth sank deep into his shoulder. He immediately fell to the side, dropping the knife. The other two stared for a second in utter confusion at what was taking place, before helping their friend wrestle the dog off. But Demon Dog wasn't letting go without a hell of a fight. By then, nearly ever house on the street had turned their lights on at the commotion and noise. Some homeowners were even yelling at them from their porches. Matt quickly retrieved the knife from the ground, and helped a dazed and confused Kaoru to his feet. When he got a good look at the attacker, he quickly called Demon Dog off.

"That a boy, easy now! Good dog!" He praised, cheerily. "Hey, Davy, sorry about that, son. Dog's got a thing for this kid, you see? Doesn't like it when people try to knife him to death and all."

"I'm gonna fuckin' murder you!!" Davy practically shrieked at him, as he cradled his wounded shoulder. "Both of you!!"

"C'mon Davy! That's no way to talk to your old classmate! Where's the love?"

Davy took a step towards them, but backed off when Demon Dog started growling. Sirens sounded in the distance, and the lackeys looked to him in alarm. Matt shrugged innocently. With a grimace, Davy and his companions turned and ran, quickly disappearing into the darkness. As soon as they were gone, Matt's carefree face darkened into a scowl. He quickly threw the knife into the water before directing his attention toward his vacantly staring roommate. Kaoru had been standing there rather stupidly the entire time, and didn't snap out of his trance-like state when Matt grabbed him tightly by the shoulders.

"I ought to shake you senseless, but you're already totally brainless, aren't you!?" Matt was fairly livid. Kaoru's head was spinning, and he didn't reply. He was just hoping he didn't throw up on Matt's shoes. "What the hell were you thinking, Kaoru?!"

_What the hell were you thinking, Kaoru?..._

Kaoru winced and grit his teeth. He suddenly slapped Matt's hands away with a violent motion.

"**Don't** touch me."

The complete lack of emotion in his voice stunned Matt. He took a step back, wrinkling his eyebrows, but quickly recovered.

"How about 'thanks for saving my damn life, Matt! That was really swell of you!' While you're at it, thank the damn dog, too! After all, he did most of the work!"

Kaoru grabbed his head in apparent frustration and breathed a sigh trying to steady himself. "I'm sorry...Thank you."

Matt held up his finger. "And?"

Kaoru gave a little bow in Demon Dog's direction. "Thanks...Good dog."

"That's right. Got to mind your manners, after all!" Matt's cheery demeanor sprang to life again. "Now come on. Let's get out of here, unless you want to talk to cops all night."

Kaoru nodded and tried to take a step forward, but his legs wouldn't hold him any longer. The night had proved to be a little too much, and he went down. Matt caught him just before he hit the ground.

One of the homeowners on the street had seen the whole affair and called the police. The older woman had been watching them from her porch with the light off, and when she saw Kaoru collapse; she called to his panicked friend.

"Bring him inside!" Scared witless and not knowing what else to do, Matt put Kaoru's arm around his neck and half carried, half dragged him inside the woman's home. It was and old house, but fully restored and lavishly decorated with deep golden colors, sweeping drapes and mosaic floors. Matt felt deeply out of place, but for Kaoru's sake, entered. "Uh-uh, not you!" the lady pointed at Demon Dog. "You git! Outside, now!" Demon Dog hung his head and whined as she shut the porch door. "Here, sweetie," the woman laid a blanket over a very plush, floral couch. "Put him on the sofa. I'll be right back." Matt complied, and the woman returned with a first aid kit, a compress, and some cold water on a tray. "Let's sit him up. He got a nasty little bump on the head." They both gently lifted Kaoru upright and she began cleaning the scrape underneath his hair with an antiseptic.

"Th-thank you," Matt cleared his throat, not really knowing what else to say. "I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Oh, no trouble at all, sweetie. I used to be a nurse once upon a time, you know? There! All done with that! It won't need stitches."

"That's good.... but...what's wrong with him?"

The retired nurse took his pulse, and lifted his eyelids one at a time. "Oh, I think he's just worn out. He'll come around in a few minutes. You'd be worn out too! I saw the whole thing!"

The woman told Matt about how she'd seen Kaoru run past her house, as she was standing on her front porch. She had also seen Davy and his gang saunter by not too long after, and got a little worried, so she grabbed her husband's binoculars from the study to see further up the road. With them, she was able to see Kaoru was in trouble, and called the police.

"But, like most things in this state, it took a little while," she sighed. "Poor little fellow. Just wouldn't give up that necklace. Must be really important to him."

Matt looked at the little silver clover and snorted. "Looks like a piece of junk. Now, his watch is something I might have died for."

The sound of a car engine stopping out front caught their attention, and within a few seconds, there was a rap on the door screen door.

"Hey, Ms. Betty. How you doin'?" the officer haled as she opened the door.

"Fine, fine. Did you catch those hooligans?"

"Not yet, not yet. Still lookin'. Like to get a report from you, now."

As they were talking, Kaoru stirred. With a moan, he groggily rubbed his face and opened his eyes.

"Welcome back, man," Matt handed Kaoru the compress, and he gratefully accepted, pushing it against his head. "Didn't know yelling at you would make you faint like a little girl."

"Where are we?..."

"In some lady's house. She's the one who called the police. You're gonna have to talk to the cop here in a second."

"Ugh, later." Kaoru grimaced. "I want to sit here for a while."

"Ah-ha, not quite the way things work here in the states, buddy." Then it hit him. "Hey, Kaoru, you don't speak any English, okay?"

"What? OH...sure...whatever."

The officer approached them. "Hey there, son. How you feelin'? Like to ask you some questions." Kaoru stared blankly at him.

"Oh, sorry, officer. He doesn't speak the language yet."

"Well is he hurt?"

"Doesn't seem to be. Just a scrape."

"I see. Well, we know who it was, anyway. We'll have us a good, long talk with Davy and his crew soon. Could you tell me his information right quick?" Matt helped him fill out the report putting his own address down. "And how you doin', Matthew? Staying out of trouble?"

Matt smiled, but it was rather forced. "But of course."

"Good, good. Well, call if you need me, but you shouldn't have any more trouble from those guys." the policeman directed his attention back to Kaoru, who was still staring at him idiotically. "Sorry I don't know any Chinese or nothin', but welcome to the States, son. We're not all assholes, I promise."

"Arigato," Kaoru gave a little bow.

"Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto! Domo!" Matt sing-songed as the officer left.

"You're such an ass." Kaoru told Matt as soon as the officer left, unable to suppress a smile. "But I guess you can't help it, if those are the people you went to school with."

"Yeah, aren't they just the peachiest? I used to call them Huey, Dewy, and Lew- aw, never mind. You wouldn't get it. But hey! You've got some spunk if you were going to stand up to them all by yourself!"

"Oh, you're awake! How's your head, sweetheart?"

"It's fine, thanks. Thanks for your help."

"Oh, well, we all have to watch out for each other, now. Let me drive you home."

"Oh, no no!" Kaoru protested as he and Matt walked to the door. "You've done enough, thanks! I'm fine, really!"

"Such a polite, sweet, young man!" Betty sighed as they left. "And handsome too!" She didn't know why, but she had a feeling she would be seeing them again.

They walked in silence for a time, but as soon as they were out of sight from the house, Matt let out a sigh. "Look, I don't know why you got all bent out of shape just because I saw your scars. It was just surprising, is all."

"I didn't want you to think I'm a weakling, too."

"Too? Oh." Matt felt he understood a little of where Kaoru was coming from. "What happened?"

"Motorcycle accident."

"No fucking way! That is so boss!"

"_Boss_?! I almost died!" Kaoru frowned. "I would have died, except this dog found me."

"Ah, man, this story just keeps getting cooler and cooler!! Demon Dog saved you?!"

"You're making this all sound rather fun and less painful than the reality was, Mathew." Matt scowled, surprised that Kaoru had already figured out he hated it when people used his full name.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I'm glad you didn't die and all, but you have to admit, it's all pretty epic. And now you look like sexy Frankenstein! Chicks dig scars, man, I'm telling you!"

"Really?!"

"Ah, hell yeah, Frankie! If I were you, I wouldn't hide anything about it. You're always trying to control how other people perceive you. Just let it happen, be yourself. You're a cool guy, you don't have to worry."

Kaoru blinked at his friend, stunned. It was about the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. As for Matt, he was feeling pleased that he had discovered a little more about his mysterious companion.

Kaoru's mind was swiftly brought back to his situation, standing at the head of the classroom. He suddenly realized how quiet everything had become, and how every pair of eyes in the room was staring at him, including the teacher, a young, dark-skinned man with a pressed shirt and tie. He walked over to Kaoru, flashing him a brilliantly white smile, and slapped him on the back. "Welcome to our class, Hitachiin Kaoru! I'm Kevin Divoro." he said cheerily. Kaoru smiled back, both at the man's friendliness and the way he butchered his name.

"Thank you, sensei. Just call me Kaoru, please."

The entire class erupted in laughter and guffaws. "He said it! Did you hear it!? Japanese people are so cool!!"

"Shut up! You're such a nerd, Demi!"

"Maybe he can help you with math, Mikey!"

"Ha! No one can help Mikey with math!"

"Wow, he's really cute too! And he has red hair!"

Kevin turned his attention toward the last voice to pipe up. "I'm glad you think so, Ayla! I want you to show Kaoru around today. Kaoru, you can take the seat next to Ayla and Demi."

Ayla was a petite girl, with frizzed reddish brown hair and thick rimmed glasses. Her smile was cheery, but Kaoru couldn't help but feel a mischievous intent behind it. Demi was a slender boy, similar in build to himself, but he dressed much more stylishly than any other person in the room, in a steam punk sort of way, and wore an earring, but had piercings for many more. His hair was a rich, chocolate brown, and his skin was very tanned.

'This boy would have been picked up by Tamaki and the host club in no time!' Kaoru thought to himself.

Demi was presently chatting away to a much larger boy, with sandy blonde hair that everyone referred to as, Mikey. Kaoru had yet to hear Mikey speak. His large blue eyes just glanced Kaoru over with a quiet dignity, and Kaoru immediately knew he wasn't the talkative type. The last person that seemed to be part of the odd looking click was a dark skinned, dark haired girl wearing a short denim skirt and polo shirt. Kaoru tried hard not to stare at her long, glossy, black hair, blinked, and scratched the back of his head with embarrassment. Ayla immediately noticed this and grinned. "So, Kaoru, let me introduce you to the group real quick. This is Gisela. She's the beautiful, residential voodoo queen and she's single! _wink-wink._"

"AYLA!!" Gisela protested, blushing. "Watch yourself, girl!"

"Oh, yeah, better not piss her off, or a chicken will get it!" Ayla whispered fiercely in Kaoru's direction.

"Chick…chicken?" Kaoru echoed in confusion.

"Oh, me me me!"

"Shut up, Demi! I was getting to you!" Ayla rolled her eyes. "This, I'm sure you've already figured out, is Demi. Well, his real name is Dempsey, but we just call him Demi. He's our residential queerie, but oh so dearie!"

"Thank you, sweetheart! I love your way with words!" Demi crooned sarcastically.

"Whoa, Demi, we don't want Mikey to think you're into girls now. Settle down there. Oh yeah, this lovable oaf is Mikey. We call him the quiet giant, but we all know Demi knows how to get him talking."

"Honey, you know that's right!" Demi confirmed, patting Mikey on the head. Mikey just put his head down into his arms on the desk, doing his best to hide. Kaoru couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's really nice to meet all of you. I'm looking forward to being your classmate this year. Thank you for your patience!"

Everyone went a little slack-jawed at the formal greeting from their peer, but quickly recovered. Demi could barely contain his excitement.

"Oh my god, I want to go to Japan soooo bad! What's it like, living over there? Why the hell did you leave?! It's heaven on earth, I'm sure!"

Kaoru laughed and shook his head. "Guess you can't appreciate it the same way if you grow up there."

"Oh, I hear that." Gisela nodded. "Is that why you came here? For a change of scenery?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Well, welcome to the New Orleans educational system! Prepared to be very, very bored, son." Gisela grinned. Kaoru grinned back as he quietly took his seat for his first American literature class.


End file.
